Power Of The Soul
by zainaballen
Summary: Sequel to "Beauty of the Soul"... Bella is a newborn vampire and Jasper has been captured by Maria. Will Bella be able to overcome her past to lead her family to his rescue? Will they have what it takes to defeat Maria's army?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: All proper rights go to Stephenie Meyer for her creation of Twilight. I am just having fun with her characters.**

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**_**Prologue…**_

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**_**BPOV**

Even though I had already known what we were getting ourselves into, the thirty soldier vampires standing before us still shocked me to the core. We guessed how many could be here but it was not this many. Even though I hadn't been much of a liar in my human days, I could still hold a perfect poker face and that is what I did now. My face stayed composed as though nothing were out of the ordinary.

My eyes quickly scanned the crowd, looking for my best friend and I nearly lost my carefully composed mask when I saw him. Jasper was being held by four of Maria's drones. Jasper was the most experienced fighter of us all but I could clearly see that he had not been fed in a long time and was weakened. This angered me beyond newborn emotions. I was pissed.

Maria stepped up two paces, still a good distance from my family and smirked at me. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" She asked while looking me up and down with an amused look on her face. "Is this the famous, _Isabella?_" The way she said my name sounded just like Phil and I had to clench my teeth to keep from hissing at her in response.

I raised an eyebrow, playing my part, and stepped forward to match her two paces. "It's _Bella,_ Maria."

Maria chuckled and took a moment to eye my family to see what she was going to face.

_Bella, be careful. She will charge an attack if you get any closer._ Edward warned me and I silently thanked him.

I looked quickly at Jasper, making sure not to allow my eyes to linger on him for his own safety and saw him cringing from the emotional onslaught of those in his presence so I took a moment to reach out to him and calm him. His eyes snapped up at me and looked confused. I gave him one more quick glance before looking back at Maria.

"You don't want to do this, Maria. If you fight my family, I _will_ destroy you." I warned her with as much venom in my voice as was coursing through my body.

She looked at me and laughed again. "Oh, no, my dear. I believe that you have that backwards."

I gave my family the signal and we charged her army head on. I could only hope that I could get to Jasper in time.

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**Please don't be angry with me for the short update. I have been ill since shortly after I promised you the sequel within a reasonable wait. I wanted to give you **_**something**_** so here it is. **

**If you haven't read "Beauty of the Soul" Please go read that as this is the sequel and it will be confusing unless you know what's going on. This story will have a lot of cool stuff in it and especially Bella. If you remember from the first story, she was different than in the original saga so she will have some cool abilities in this one. **

**I have the first chapter nearly completed but I just have to type it up so I will get it to you as soon as I can. **

**Soooo… what do you think? Ohh… off topic, how many of you have read the "Host" By Stephenie Meyer? **


	2. Forgotten And Remembered

**A/N: Here is the first official chapter of "Power of the Soul". I hope you enjoy it and please let me know what you think. I have a lot planned for this story and I hope you will find it as entertaining as I hope you will.**

*****I wanted to thank everyone for the prologue reviews. It means a lot to hear what you all think.**

***** This chapter is dedicated to my lovely Beta: Kimmie39 **

***** Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or the saga. If I had been smart enough to think of it first, I would be F-A-M-O-U-S!**

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_**BPOV**_

Pain.

Unbelievable and unbearable pain. It feels as though my entire body has been dipped into molten lava, just as one would dip strawberries into chocolate fondue. This must be how witches feel who were burned at the stake. Fire has found a way to consume my entire being.

I tried to remember what happened directly before I started to burn to determine what caused this but my mind drew a blank.

Time meant nothing as I burned. I had nothing to measure the passage of the minutes with. It was like being submerged in a bathtub, everything is muted. It felt as though I had been burning for an eternity and of course there wasn't a way of which I could dispute that. I fear that this burning would never cease or if it does, that I will be nothing but a pile of charred ashes. There is no way that a person can escape such agony unscathed.

After what seemed like forever, I began to become somewhat more aware of my surroundings. I can't say that it was normal again by any means, but I definitely was slowly escaping the utter darkness that surrounded me now.

After my mind "woke-up", I was awake but submerged in nothing but darkness; if that makes any sense. I could think but I couldn't hear, see, or smell anything. It was an experience that was very disconcerting.

Now, I am able to hear a buzzing sound sporadically, which I have yet to identify. The buzzing is a very welcome reprieve from the nothingness that I 'awoke' to.

The pain gained in intensity and I tried to clamp down on it and hold it within myself. I have never been one to show weakness for I am a more suffer in silence type and I would be damned if I allowed that to change now. _How much more of this can I take though?_ I wondered briefly before I banished the thought so I wouldn't lose grip on my focus.

Slowly, the buzzing sound became more distinguished and I began to hear voices. I paid as close attention as possible to these voices. As they became clearer, they seemed so familiar. I searched my mind for the source of the familiarity but again I drew nothing but a blank. Why would people be talking while I am burning? Could they be so cruel as to not care about the flames that were consuming me?

The pain began to increase again and it took my entire strength to not scream out in agony. I drifted in and out of consciousness. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but it definitely helped some with the intense pain.

When the unconsciousness came, I couldn't hear or feel anything. I felt no pain at that time. I wished to just stay unconscious if it were possible, screw the consequences. I wished more than anything though that the burning would stop.

There were points in which I could see no end in sight. The burning consumed my every thought and my every silent plea for death. The only thing stopping me from actually begging for death was a feeling that someone needed me when this burning was over… if it ever was.

Over time, my senses appeared to be more heightened than before. With the fading in and out of consciousness, I couldn't determine whether or not it was instantaneous or gradual. With this new development, I could only begin to hope that the burning would begin to end soon.

My already erratic heartbeat began to pick up and, as if consequently, the pain increased. If I thought that the burning hurt before, I was sadly naïve in comparison to now. It seemed that the more my heart pounded, the more the pain increased. Before long, my heart began to race a mile a minute.

The pain started to ebb slowly from parts of my body. First my hands and feet became pain free, shortly followed then by my arms and legs. As if part of some dominance effect, the rest of my body followed and the pain receded until the burning was solely centered in my heart.

With every slow thrust of my heart, the pain seemed to only increase. I wanted to scream out but I held tight to what self control I still had. I only could hope that it would be over soon. The pain continued to increase until my heart gave one final beat and then there was nothing but silence. This confused me. Surely if I were dead, I wouldn't be able to think, would I?

I lay silently and still for a few moments, almost waiting for the pain to return and mock me again. I tentatively inhaled to get some knowledge of my surroundings. In that one breath, I smelled a whole rainbow of scents; some familiar, some more defined, and some new.

There was a movement to my side and I acted purely on instinct. Within two seconds, I was crouched in the corner of the room while facing seven others. They looked at me with somewhat shocked expressions. The handsome one with the bronze hair began to slowly approach me but stopped mid-stride when he heard a warning growl issued from my lips.

Hurt flashed through his eyes as he stepped back to rejoin the group. "Love, we won't hurt you," he said with a pained expression. I wanted to believe him but for some reason my body rebelled against the thought of that trust. Different emotions warred inside of me but I forced myself to focus on the situation at hand.

"Love?" I asked while leaning my head to the side in confusion.

Fear and sadness began warring in his eyes for dominance. He lowered his eyes to hide the emotions playing in them. For some unknown reason, it was as if I could feel the emotions that were coursing through him. I felt his pain, his sadness, his sting of rejection, his fear, but most of all I could feel his love. I gasped from the emotions and the moment his eyes caught mine, I felt as if I was drowning in the deep, swirling pools of darkened topaz.

I held his eyes as I straightened from my crouch. I could see his muscles visibly relax once he saw my new stance. We continued to hold one another's gaze until someone cleared their throat. I backed up further into the corner as I looked towards the blonde-haired man to the side of the bronze-haired Adonis. The blonde went to take a step towards me before I issued a hiss at him. He looked startled just as the bronze-haired guy did before.

The bronze-haired guy saw the panic in my eyes and moved a few steps closer to me and turned until he was in front of me but not near me. This move of his made me feel safe. He put himself between me and the threat. I sighed in relief as I moved a step forward so that I was more directly behind him. I'm not sure why, but I felt _safe_ behind him as I knew that he would protect me at all costs. It was an ingrained knowledge that my body suddenly realized.

"Bella?" The blonde asked as he looked at me.

Bella? Who is Bella? The name does sound very familiar though. I leaned my head to the side to show my confusion but never let my guard down around these strangers.

"Sweetheart, do you remember us?" The woman with the caramel hair asked me with glistening eyes. It looked as though she was crying, yet no tears came from her eyes.

"Should I?" I asked warily as I looked again at each stranger in front of me.

There were gasps from the four women but what caught my attention was the stabbing pain coming from the bronze-haired man in front of me. The pain cut at my heart so I took a few more tentative steps until I was right behind him. I haven't the slightest idea how I could feel what he is feeling but I couldn't with anyone else nor did I know why his pain hurt me as much to witness as he does to feel it. I did, however, know that I didn't want him to feel anything but happy.

Despite the warnings from my instincts to stay away from the other strangers, I had a sort of pull drawing me towards him. I was a foot away from him when I reached my hand out to touch his arm, hoping to give him some comfort to take away his pain.

The moment that my hand made contact with his body; I began to get flashes of him and me. The flashes showed us together laughing, playing, singing, holding hands, kissing, and embracing one another in tenderness and love.

I gasped and he turned around and stared at me with widened eyes. Again, I felt as though I was being pulled into the depths of his eyes. I have been told before that the eyes are the window to one's soul and as I fell deeper and deeper into his eyes, I would definitely have to agree with those wise words. I could nearly feel his essence-his being- and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever experienced.

I closed my eyes and embraced the feeling of completeness that I felt as my hand remained on his arm. It was almost as though he completed me.

My eyes caught a reflection from my hand. I glanced at where the gleam came from and drew in a sharp breath when I saw the most beautiful ring on my finger. I felt a stinging in my eyes as I looked up at the bronze-haired guy. I took a deep breath to steady myself before I could speak. It was disconcerting to feel so many powerful emotions course through me at once. If I wasn't able to focus, I am afraid that I would be lost in the whirlwind of emotion.

"You gave this to me?" I asked him softly. He nodded with a hopeful expression.

"Do you remember, Love?" He asked me as he slowly raised the back of his hand to caress my cheek. I shook my head and my heart tore as I watched that hope disappear from him.

I raised my hand to copy his prior movements on his cheek just as he had done on mine. "When I grabbed your arm, before, I got flashes of us together. We were happy with one another. Are we… lovers?" I asked shyly and waited for a blush to blaze against my cheeks but for some reason it never came.

Even though my instincts told me to not forget that there were six possible threats in the room, my eyes and my mind only saw him. I had a knowledge that this man would let no harm come to me. I relaxed more at this thought.

"Yes, love, we are." He smiled the most handsome crooked smile I have ever imagined possible. "We are engaged to be married."

I frowned and tried hard to concentrate. "Why can't I remember? I don't understand how I could forget someone as special as you. I have this….. yearning and love for you and it is very strong but I don't know the past behind it. How could I not remember someone that I love so dearly?" I felt stinging in my eyes again as a sob escaped my lips.

He looked pained as he pulled me into his arms. I laid my face against his chest as he held onto me tightly. "I don't know, Bella, but I promise you that we will figure it out." He kissed the top of my head as I melted even more into his embrace. "Carlisle, as she was changing, she was replaying her memories. Why doesn't she remember them now?" he asked the blonde haired man who had spoken to me earlier.

The blonde, Carlisle, sighed and looked at me briefly before returning his gaze back to my fiancée. "I am not sure, Edward. The events surrounding Bella's transformation were very traumatic. On top of that, the previous events in her life had not been any easier. Perhaps this is her body's way to protect her mind." Carlisle shrugged and my fiancé, Edward, held me tighter as if he was afraid of losing me.

Without thinking about my actions, I rose up on my tiptoes and kissed Edward's cheek. This gesture felt completely natural to me and he seemed to relax under my chaste kiss.

Something that was said had caught my attention. "What do you mean by my 'transformation'?" I asked while looking back and forth between Carlisle and Edward.

Edward looked briefly at Carlisle and minutely shook his head before he turned toward me. I could feel his nervousness so I intertwined our fingers and mine before I gave him a gentle squeeze in reassurance.

"Bella, do you remember anything odd about our family?" I thought for a moment but nothing came to me and reminded me what I was supposed to be remembering. I frowned and shook my head.

Edward took a deep breath and continued. "I know this may sound absurd since you seem to have no recollection of your history with us or any of our kind but we are different from humans." I looked at him curiously and he continued, "Love, you, me, and our family are all vampires."

I stared at him and waited for everyone to start laughing but the tension in the room as everyone awaited my reaction showed me that they were serious.

As weird as it sounds, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I wasn't all that surprised about this revelation. It was like some part of me knew this already.

"Okay," I said with a small smile. "I take it that I am a _new_ vampire?" I asked Edward. His eyebrows knitted together as he nodded his head slowly.

"You are taking this rather well," he said as he looked questioningly at me.

"It may not make any sense, but something inside of me is compelling me to believe you. Somehow I know you are telling me the truth and I trust you."

He chuckled slightly. "That I am."

I took a moment to look at the other _vampires_ in the room and felt something tug at my mind as if I knew them all but couldn't remember them no matter how hard I tried. They all looked expectantly at me so I shied behind Edward.

The one who looked like a body builder frowned at this action of mine. It was as if my lack of recognition hurt him. I frowned at the idea of hurting him so I resumed my position only slightly behind Edward and gave him a small smile. He smiled back at me and I was able to see past his expansive muscles and see the gentle soul that he has.

My attention was drawn to the little pixie-looking girl. She was the only one in the room without a partner standing beside her. Unbidden panic stirred through me. I looked more closely at her and I could clearly see her sadness. This made no sense. You can't _see_ emotions, but the black that surrounded where her heart would be showed me that I was indeed seeing something unusual. Perhaps it is just a vampire thing and they all saw what I saw.

I looked around at everyone again and I could see dull, muted, and also bright, colors surrounding them but not focused on their heart. My own heart, figuratively, clenched at this and I wanted to take the hurt and pain away from everyone. I didn't know what made them feel this way, but I wanted to fix it. Edward noticed my distraction so I shook my head as if to tell him '_not now'_.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the male with red eyes look at me questioningly. I was confused by this look and looked to Edward for help.

Edward's eyes widened and looked down at me with slight pain in his eyes. I _hated_ that pain and cupped his cheek in hope of comforting him. "What is it?" I asked him softly as if he was the only one in the room with me.

"Love, I completely forgot about your needs. You are behaving far more rationally and mature than anyone expected, so I sort of forgot about how unbearable your throat must feel."

My hand instinctively went to my throat and I finally felt the fire that burned in my throat. I hadn't noticed it until he brought it up and I was irritated that he drew my attention to the burning in my throat.

"Well, I actually hadn't noticed it until you just _had_ to mention it."The irritation seeped into my voice, unfortunately, and I instantly regretted it. "I'm sorry," I told Edward but he just squeezed my hand in reassurance.

"Don't worry, love. We all remember what it was like to be a newborn. The emotions you are feeling can become quite strong and distracting. It will get better, I promise" He told me with a smile at the end. I tried to return the smile but I think it may have come out in a grimace.

"Bella, do you want to go hunting?" The man with red eyes asked. I looked at him and was instantly drawn to the colors that belonged to him. He had the most colors in the room and my first instinct was to take those colors away. I had some kind of intuition that told me what the colors represented. His colors were a heavy black and red combination. My heart went out to him because I didn't know how to make it better. I wanted him to be freed of whatever was keeping such dangerous colors around him.

I nodded slowly, cringing slightly at the burn in my throat. The man with red eyes gave me a small, encouraging smile and Edward pulled me to the window. He let go of my hand and landed lithely on his feet. I was afraid that I would fall to my death or hurt myself majorly. Needless to say, I was stunned when my body followed his movements and I landed just as gracefully as he did. It was amazing that I could do that and I giggled in reaction.

Edward looked up at me and smiled mischievously. "See if you can keep up, Love." I looked at him confused but he just smirked and took off running.

I stared after him for a moment before I started running myself. No sooner had I decided to chase after him, I already was a good distance from the house. There was no thinking time for my brain to send messages to my body-it just happened.

I could smell his scent so I followed the trail that he set. Within a short minute, I could see bronze ahead of me so I increased my speed. It was amazing to run and still see with such clarity. I could see each plant, each insect, each everything that I passed.

I let out a giggle once I caught up to Edward and kissed him on the cheek as I ran past him. I ran till I got to the stream and stopped so I could wait for him to catch up. I didn't have any idea as to where we were headed so I figured it would be best if he led. It took him a full thirty-two seconds to reach me, although I have no idea how I would know the exact time it took.

Edward came to a halt beside me and just stared at me shocked. His mouth was literally slacked open and his eyes were wide. I cocked my head to the side and just stared at him until he finally snapped out of his daze.

"Wow. I have never seen anyone move so quickly. Of course newborns are faster than average vampires, but I have always been the fastest vampire I have ever encountered. You beat me" he said with awe.

Edward stood beside me with his hand on my lower back and I was pleasantly distracted by him. He chuckled and removed his hand. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Good, now do you smell that?" I nodded. "Follow your instincts."

I snapped my eyes open and took off to the north. How it was north I do not know but apparently I now have Vampire GPS; whatever it was that I smelled made liquid pool in my mouth. All of a sudden, my senses were overtaken and all rational thought left me.

I ran to the edge of a clearing and stopped. I crouched down as I saw my prey. There was a lone bear just lying in the sun. The wind shifted and his eyes found mine instantly. He quickly stood up on two legs while trying to appear large and intimidating.

I began to stalk forward as I was antagonizing him. When I got close enough, he lunged for me but at the last moment before he hit me, I jumped in the air and twisted so that I landed on his back. I snapped his neck and jumped to the ground as he fell. The moment that he was on the ground, my teeth latched onto his neck.

The blood pooled into my mouth and I moaned at the taste. The blood was liquid ambrosia. I don't believe anything could rival this taste of blood.

_Yes there is something that could._ I thought about humans and how their blood would taste a thousand times sweeter than any animal would. However, once this thought crossed my mind, I cringed away from the idea. I mentally chastised myself for even thinking such a thing. Humans are friends _not_ food.

As the blood flowed down my throat, the fire that raged against my throat began to diminish. I opened my eyes and saw Edward watching me feed and his eyes locked onto mine and it brought a fluttering to my stomach. His eyes were the deepest shade of black and the way he was looking at me made me want to blush but thankfully there was no longer blood to bring that traitorous blush to the surface. With one last pull of the blood, the bear was officially drained.

I stood up and slowly stalked toward Edward as if he were the prey that I wanted and I realized that he was exactly what I wanted. His black eyes watched my every movement until I was right in front of him.

He was leaning against a tree so I moved until our bodies were flush with one another. I brought my hand up and allowed my fingers to trace the beautiful lines of his face. His features were perfect and I began to wonder if the rest of him was perfect as well.

I looked into his eyes and while our eyes held onto one another, I brought my mouth up to hover over his. I lightly pressed my lips to his and tangled my hands in his hair. This felt so natural to me and I quickly deepened the kiss while I pressed myself up against Edward as hard as I could.

I gasped as images flashed through my mind. I closed my eyes to try and stop the images but they kept coming quickly. I felt like I was going to be sick and I slid down to the ground because my legs gave out as though they were rubber.

I started to shake as my whole life began to flash through my mind; every moment from when I was a young girl until now. I saw every detail of my life and my eyes glistened over with tears that I could no longer shed.

"Love, what's wrong?" Edward asked franticly but I couldn't find it in me to answer or reassure him.

The images began to slow once I got to the point of my captivity. I felt nauseous again and got up on my knees to bend over. I wretched all of the blood I had just consumed. I continued to heave until it was all gone. There was nothing left inside of me to throw up but I desperately wished that I could throw up the memories of what Phil-James- or whoever he was did to me.

Once the nausea subsided, I sat back down and pulled my knees to my chest while I buried my face in my arms. I began rocking back and forth as I had to relive those horrid memories again. I am sure they will be forever burned into my memory and I could now understand why I forgot everything when I was turned.

I felt strong arms encircle me and hold me to them. Edward brought the hair out of my face and quickly braided it so it wouldn't stick to me. He held me as I rocked back and forth and waited until I calmed down to speak again. "Bella, you have to tell me what is going on. Please, baby, I need to know."

Edward. He's going to hate me when he finds out what Phil did to me. He's going to see how disgusting I am and he will think that I betrayed him. I sobbed at this thought. I couldn't lose him. I don't know if I could survive if he left me. It would destroy my heart.

"Bella, _please_, I am begging you to tell me what is wrong" Edward cried out.

I took a deep breath to steady my nerves. I couldn't face him to do this so I just stayed where I was while relishing the feeling of his arms around mine one more time since it may be my last.

"Edward, something about our kiss made me remember everything." He drew in a sharp breath but didn't interrupt. "I am so sorry." I said as another sob escaped my throat.

"Why are you sorry, Bella?" He asked and I could feel his confusion. I'd have to think about that later when I had time to think about things.

"It was Phil who took me. Ruby was taken as well. He kept us in a basement and he would come down and play… games with me. He never touched Ruby, thankfully, but he hurt me. He hurt me very much physically and he also…" I couldn't finish my sentence.

"He what, love?" Edward asked me as he rubbed soothing circles on my arms.

"I am yours, Edward, and I would never _ever_ allow another man to touch me in any way that was just for you but he was very strong, too strong, and he overpowered me." I stopped briefly as I heard Edward begin to growl. I took another breath and continued. "He touched me in ways only you are allowed to… he… raped me." I said in a small voice. I was afraid of Edward's reaction.

His growls grew into snarls as his hold on me tightened. If I were human I am sure he would have crushed me. I felt comfort in those arms but I feared that he was angry with me.

"I'm sorry." I said as I hung my head in shame. I tried to get out of his arms but they just tightened and he pulled me back against his chest. He leaned down so his face was on the top of my head and he buried his face in my hair. He took a deep breath of my scent and loosened his arms a little.

"Why on earth are _you_ sorry, Bella?" He asked incredulously.

"Because I let him take something that was only yours. I failed you."

In less than a second, Edward turned me around so that I was facing him. I averted my eyes. I couldn't bring myself to look into his. I was so ashamed and felt unworthy of his love. He wasn't having this though and raised my chin so I had to look into his eyes. What I saw shocked me. I saw so much love in those eyes. How could he love me after what happened?

"Love, there is nothing, I mean _nothing_, for you to be sorry for. What that filthy bastard did was not your fault."

"But I-,"I tried to respond but he interrupted me.

"No, Bella. You did _nothing_ wrong. He was a vampire! There was absolutely no way you could have fought him off. I am afraid to think about what might have happened if you had found a way to fight him off." I felt a shudder run through his body as he said this. "Bella, I know what happened because I saw it in his mind. I am the one who is sorry. _I_ am the one who failed _you_, Bella. If I would have found you faster, perhaps that wouldn't have happened." His head hung down onto my shoulder and it broke my heart to see him so distraught.

"Edward, you saved me. You gave me a second chance. I will be forever thankful that you had the courage to save me. I am sure not everyone would risk their life like that." I kissed the top of his head. "All that matters now is that we can be together now and nothing can separate us." I began to frown before I added, "That is, _if_ you still want me."

His head snapped up and he looked at me curiously. "How could I _not_ want to be with you, Bella? You are my life. I was alone for too long and once I met you I knew that I could never be complete without you." He said as he kissed my forehead. "I love you and nothing could ever change that." he assured me as he pulled me into an intimate embrace.

I began to sob onto his shoulder. How could such a perfect and loving man want me? How could he love me after what Phil did?

"Simple. You are my heart and soul. Without you, I would cease to exist." He said as he kissed my forehead. I could tell that he was worried about doing something that might trigger my memories of the… _rape._ I wish I could reassure him that nothing he could ever do would associate him with that bastard.

"Thank you, Bella." He said as he leaned in and kissed my lips.

As he pulled away I looked at him curiously. "How could you tell what I was thinking?"

"I don't know. It all started during the transformation. I can sometimes read your thoughts. Not all the time though, like I can do with other people. It seems to just be when you want me to hear something, even if that want is subconscious. Carlisle believes it is our connection which has strengthened during your transformation."

I laughed. "Okay, that is just cool. But I am glad that my mind isn't open like other people. I am sorry but I like my privacy."

"It's okay I suppose. I forgive you." He chuckled.

After a few moments of silence, Edward pulled back and looked at me with concerned eyes. "Are you thirsty?"

I was indeed, so I nodded. He smiled and led me for a short while until I caught a musky scent that made venom pool in my mouth. My head snapped up to the tree in front of us. A mountain lion was perched atop a branch while he cleaned himself from a recent hunt. Edward let go of my hand as I stalked forward.

The mountain lion was gorgeous. He looked powerful and I am sure he was as far as his type goes but unfortunately for him, I would be able to overpower him with a flick of my wrist. I almost hated to think about bringing death to such a beautiful creature but I would rather it be him who sustains me and not some human. I suppose it is no different than how I used to enjoy eating steaks.

I grabbed a branch above my head and flipped up onto the branch that he was laying on. Once he felt the branch move, he turned to look at me. He growled as he backed up to the edge of the branch and I giggled and growled back. As he went to jump to the ground, I grabbed him and flipped in the air as I landed silently on the ground. I latched onto his neck and smiled at the taste of his blood. It is so much sweeter than bear blood.

My eyes sought Edward's and I motioned him to join me. His gaze held mine as he walked over to me and knelt beside the animal. He never took his eyes from me as he and I shared the blood from my kill. We drained the cat and unlatched from his veins. Neither of us spoke as we looked into each other's eyes. Finally, Edward smiled his famous crooked smile and I pounced on him. He had some blood on the corner of his mouth which I greedily attacked.

I had thought that nothing could rival the taste of blood but I had been sadly mistaken. Edward's taste easily rivaled blood. Of course, I had experienced Edward before but with my heightened senses I could finally appreciate his uniqueness.

I pulled away and leaned my forehead against his and closed my eyes to reign in the lust I was feeling. I have always wanted Edward, but being a newborn has made those emotions too dramatic and I felt like I was slowly being consumed by each new emotion. He chuckled and kissed my forehead before he sat up and pulled me onto his lap. He began playing with my hair as I leaned into him. This felt perfect.

After a few minutes, I brought up what I had been wondering about. "Edward…" I began.

"Yes, Love?" He asked as he kissed the top of my head.

"Where is Ruby?" I hadn't heard her heartbeat in the house and I am sure I would have smelled her blood.

Edward stiffened under me. I turned around to look at him and he had such a pained expression that I knew his answer would be bad. I closed my eyes and in a small voice I asked "She didn't make it, did she?"

He shook his head and buried his face in my shoulder. "I'm so sorry Bella. If we could have saved her we would have. She was gone before we even arrived." I could hear and feel his sorrow so I held onto him tighter.

"It's not right." A sob escaped my throat and tears that would never fall stung my eyes. "I swore I would protect her with my own life. I tried everything I could to protect her. I did my best to keep his focus on me the whole time even though it caused me harm. How could I fail her like that?" More sobs escaped as Edward held onto me and rocked me back and forth.

"It is not your fault, Bella." He tried to assure me.

"It _is_ my fault. She was taken simply because she _knew_ me. How messed up is that? Because of me, she was kidnapped and thrown into a hopeless situation. And I failed her. I might have as well killed her myself. It's my fault."

"No, Bella." He shook his head as he pulled me closer into his chest. He rested his chin on top of my head and I felt his heart breaking over the pain I was going through. I hated to see him in pain itself but to know that I caused it hurt me more than anyone would ever know. I took a deep breath to calm myself before I hurt him more with my freak out.

"Edward… where's Jasper? I didn't see him in the house and I am sure my negative emotions must have taken a toll on him. I want to apologize for any suffering I caused him because of my emotions running so haywire."

"Bella…" He sighed and stopped as if to find the right way to word the next information. "Jasper is…well, he's not with us right now." He said softly as if afraid of my reaction.

"Where is he? I didn't drive him out during my transformation did I? Oh my word, he probably was feeling how painful it was and it was probably hurting him. Oh no, I feel horrible now." I said as I began breathing frantically-a human habit that I apparently didn't grow out of.

"Love, Jasper wasn't here during your transformation." He told me as he pulled me even closer to him. I am sure, had I been human, he would have crushed me by now.

"Where was he?" I asked while nearly afraid for the answer.

"Bella, as you know, Jasper has the most experience out of all of us when it comes to dangerous situations. When you were taken, we didn't have any idea where you were or who you were taken by. Jasper realized that Maria was involved and so we did the only thing we could do to find you; we found Maria. I got what I needed from her head but we didn't realize that it was a trap. Somehow she knew that we were coming and she played us into her hand. Jasper demanded that I go and find you."

I wasn't sure if vampires could go into shock but I certainly was feeling similar to that. I heard Edward's words but they seemed to not make sense to me even though I completely comprehended what he was telling me.

"Then what?" I asked in a whisper. I was afraid that if my voice was any louder that I would completely lose control of myself.

"Maria captured him and I left to find you." He said as he lowered his head onto my shoulder and I could feel his shame. This enraged me and I jumped up and began pacing. I couldn't look at him and made sure to keep my eyes forward and on the ground.

I don't know how long I paced, it could have been a minute or an hour, but when I finally got my emotions under control some I turned my furious gaze onto him. "You just _left_ him? How could you leave your own _brother_?" I growled.

"Love, you don't understand. If I would have stayed, how would I have gotten to you in time?" He asked me softly as if afraid of my reaction.

I laughed humorlessly, "Perhaps you should have just let me be Edward. It's not like it would had made much a difference. But, oh no, you and the rest of the damn family just decided to put me before Jasper! How could you guys do that? You left him to die just so you could save me! How stupid are you Edward?

"You know damn well what I would have chosen if you had asked me. I would have forced you to save Jasper instead. He deserves this life so much more than I do. He's lived through hell and you all just left him there. How could you do something like that?" I was angrier than I have ever been in my life and I am afraid of some of the things that passed my mouth. How could I be so cruel to my Edward?

"You're right, Bella." He said and I looked at him shocked. He agreed with me? He saw my confusion and rose to take my hand in his. I yanked it back because I was still very upset with his choices. "You're right, but I will not apologize for saving you Bella. If I could have saved you both, I would not have left him but I couldn't at the time. Bella, you are my _mate_ and by nature I will always put you before anyone or anything else. You are my first and foremost priority."

I glared at him for a minute before taking his hand and pulling him behind me. "Where are we going?" he asked me.

"To save my best friend! We will need the family and we will need training. Once that is over, I will not hesitate to take down every single being standing between us and Jasper. If that includes Maria, then she will die by my hand. Nobody takes someone close to me." I growled out loudly and watched as all the animals in the vicinity run away from us.

I would save Jasper because it is my fault he is in this to begin with. Once I save Jasper, I will kill every single vampire who is responsible for his capture and then I will make damn sure that nobody will ever be stupid enough to mess with my family again. I had a feeling I knew just how to accomplish that.

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**A/N: Thoughts, comments, ideas?**

***** I hope you liked this chapter and the change in Bella. We will find out, in coming chapters, more about her personality but later on in the story you will find out exactly **_**why**_** her personality and her abilities are so different. Pay close attention to the time preparing to save Jasper. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I love to hear from all of you.**

***** Please review and let me know what you think. I just got back from Toronto, so that is why this chapter was later than I had hoped for. **


	3. Training

**A/N: Here is chapter 2. Review and tell me what you think of the story so far. Do you think the sequel has potential?**

***** This chapter is dedicated to: blackwolf2dragoon.**

***** Disclaimer: All proper rights go to . I am just enjoying elaborating on my own plot.**

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**BPOV**

"Bella, you are handling things remarkably well," Peter told me as he sat down beside me on the porch steps.

"I wouldn't say that." I huffed.

"I would." he smirked at me.

"Right, Petey," I rolled my eyes. "My enhancements distract me so often that I feel scatterbrained and I feel things so much more powerfully that it actually hurts sometimes. Not to mention that I have this inner-self that would love nothing more than the opportunity to slaughter the entire human race for the liquid gold in their bodies. Oh and we shan't forget that I am the reason that my innocent friend was murdered as well as the reason that my best friend was captured and Lord only knows what else."

"That's the spirit!" Peter chuckled while punching my shoulder. He quickly sobered up and grew serious. "We'll get him back, Bells."

I gave him a small smile and we sat together in a companionable silence. It's only been a few hours since I found out about Jasper being gone but my mind has ran through every scenario possible. I couldn't help the guilt that threatened to crush me since his capture was entirely my fault. If he hadn't come to save me, he would still be where he belongs-with his family.

On the outside it may look like I am doing nothing to get Jasper back, but in reality, I have been planning. There was no way that we could go into this half-cocked so I was currently making use of my multi-functional brain. It has to be one of my favorite parts of being a vampire so far. Well, except the physical aspects. I had forgotten what it felt like to be able to walk on my own let alone be able to be so free now.

"Okay well, I am going for a quick hunt. I'll be back in an hour. Would you like to go with me?" Peter asked as he stood up.

"No, thank you. I am not thirsty right now. I will go tonight with Edward. Hurry back because when you get back, we will start training." I said.

He smirked and nodded his head. "Yes, Ma'am. Oh and by the way, Bella, I loved how you put everyone in their place. Jasper will be proud to know how you stood your ground."

I giggled and shooed him away. I had more planning to do and I needed more time alone to figure things out. My mind momentarily drifted back to when I confronted the family about Jasper's capture.

_I pulled Edward into the yard and called for everyone to join us out front. They all approached me slowly as if afraid that I would run away. I rolled my eyes at them and Emmett ran to me and twirled me in the air. He had the goofiest grin on his face and I couldn't help but return it._

"_I knew you wouldn't forget us forever!" He chuckled as he sat me back down on my own two legs._

"_Yeah, how could I forget my Emmy-bear?" I asked as I kissed his cheek. He squeezed me in one of his famous bear hugs once more before he stepped back as the others came to welcome me back. I stepped back with a glare and everyone stopped in their tracks._

"_Bella, what's wrong?" Carlisle asked me with a concerned expression. Seeing his concern broke me down a little but it served to piss me off as well. How could he show concern for _me_ when his _son_ was being held captive?_

"_You all should be ashamed of yourselves." I said through clenched teeth. Upon seeing their confused faces I laughed once without humor. "Oh, did you forget him already? How could you just leave him there? After all that he has done for this family, this is how you repay him?" By the time I finished saying this, I was pacing again. It helped to control my anger which was seriously needed right now. I didn't want to let my anger consume me._

"_It's not like that, Bella." Carlisle tried to reason but stopped once he saw how furious my expression was. _

"_Then what _is_ it like then?" I spat._

"_He chose you instead of himself." Peter said as he looked at me with sympathetic eyes._

"_That was not his decision to make. He never should have been allowed to come after me. None of you should have done that. Look what happened as a result. My life was and is _not_ worth his. I appreciate what you all did for me, but you had no right to leave him like that even if it was to save me. Every single one of you comes before me and I will not tolerate something like this ever again. Are we clear?" I asked as I looked each of them in their eyes. I could tell that my eyes were hardened and anger blared in them. _

"_Yes." they all said in ashamed voices._

"_Good. Now, I am going to save him. Whether you come or not, that is your decision. I will not take your choice away from you but I will not tolerate you interfering with this rescue. If you cannot commit fully to do whatever needs to be done to get Jasper back, I will not bother with including you in the preparations. If any of you are uncertain, even the slightest, about your involvement, then I want you to leave now because _nothing_ will come in the way of me getting Jasper back." _

_I gave them a few moments to decide but thankfully nobody left. "Good. We will start training at three o'clock. Meet me back out here then and we will get started." With that, I left to sit on the front porch where I began to plot and plan._

I got up off the porch as Peter re-entered the yard from his hunt. I walked over to him and turned to the house. "Training." I said in a normal voice, knowing they would hear it. Within a minute, everyone was lined up in front of me, waiting for my instruction. This gave me a boost of confidence but I had no idea what I was doing.

I turned pleading eyes to Peter who just smirked and held his hands up. "Nope, Bells, this is all you. You're the one who decided on training so you are the one who will be leading it. Plus, you are the best one to lead us on this mission."

I looked at Peter funny. "What do you mean that I am the best one to lead?" I cocked my head to the side in confusion.

"You'll see." He said.

I rolled my eyes and turned to face the Cullens. "Okay, who has fight training?" I asked. They all raised their hands and I mentally sighed. Great, I am the only one to be amateur.

"Okay…Let's break off into groups. I do not want mated couples together for conflict of interest reasons. Whereas we won't be fighting our mates when this confrontation occurs, we do need to be able to focus now to be able to get the most intense training we can. How about Edward and Rose, Carlisle and Alice, Char and Emmett, and Peter, Esme, and I? We'll start off with simple sparing for now. Later we will advance." I dismissed them as they went into their separate groups.

I wanted Peter with me because I needed proper fight preparation since I am the only one who doesn't know how to fight. Peter and Esme came over. Peter had an amused look on his face. I looked at him curiously but he just smirked and looked away.

"Bella, you look fabulous. Immortality suits you." Esme complimented me. I smiled and gave her a peck on the cheek in gratitude. I really haven't had a chance to sit back and think about how much immortality has changed me but I can tell that it definitely suits me better than humanity in my opinion.

"Okay, sweet-thang, whatcha got?" Peter asked and chuckled as I rolled my eyes at him.

"I am _not_ your sweet-thang, brother. I am your sweet and innocent baby sister." I said in mock seriousness.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say _baby sis._" He laughed.

"I actually want you and Esme to go first. I have never fought before and I want to see it done so I can pick up on the moves." I explained.

"Yes ma'am!" He saluted.

Esme and Peter got into crouched positions and began circling each other. Esme lunged at Peter but he sidestepped her right before contact and flipped around behind her. She crouched again and flung at him but turned to her right at the last second. Her fist collided with his jaw and I heard an obvious crack.

"Dang Esme, you have a mean left hook!" He said as he rubbed his jaw.

"Sorry, Sweetheart." she said thoroughly amused and not sorry in the least.

They circled each other again and Peter jumped off of the ground and landed behind Esme. He put his teeth beside her neck which meant he obviously won the spar. I soaked in everything I could but their spar didn't last as long as I would have liked it to.

"Your turn, Miss." Peter smiled his razor sharp teeth at me.

I held up my finger, motioning for a minute, while I glanced around at the other fights going on. I watched each group for a minute before I turned back to Peter. I got down in a crouch and flashed him my own razor sharp grin.

"Show me whatcha got, _Sweet Thang._" He smirked again and was momentarily distracted as I ran behind him and pulled his head to the side with my teeth at his neck.

"I am _not_ your sweet thang." I growled as I let go of his head.

He stared at me in shock. "How did you move so fast?" He asked with eyes full of wonder and awe. I shrugged and he told us to go again.

I crouched down and we circled each other a few times before he lunged after me. I easily dodged his attempt and did a twirl around him. I giggled as I saw how flustered he was becoming at my speed. I think I was enjoying this a little too much.

He crouched back down and lunged at my feet but I jumped at the last second so that I landed behind him and grabbed his ankle to flip him over.

Once he was on his back, I grabbed him by his neck and raised him up off of the ground. I threw him across the yard and was beside him in a second. He lunged again but I faked left and snuck behind him as I bared my teeth at his neck again.

Bella two, Peter zero.

"Again!" He growled out.

I just laughed and motioned him forward. I decided to ruffle him a bit to see him pick his game up. "C'mon Petey, stop fighting like a girl and actually try to hit me."

He snarled and his eyes turned pitch black. Bingo!

He lunged at me and I flipped over him. He turned on me and grabbed me by the arms as he tried to force me to my knees. I closed my eyes and when I opened them again I felt a desire to break free. I used all of my strength and flung my arms upwards which inadvertently flung Peter into the air. He did a twist mid-flip and landed on my back. I tucked and rolled twice and came into a crouch once I felt that he let go of my back.

He tried to sneak up from the side but I felt him coming and twisted to face him. He snarled at me and I snarled back. We circled each other a few times before I lunged at him. He dodged my attack and grabbed me by the neck. He couldn't choke me, now that I was a vampire and technically didn't _need_ to breathe, but it was still very uncomfortable.

I grabbed onto his arm that was holding me and threw him with as much force as I could over my head and into the ground. Before he had time to move, I pinned him to the ground and had my teeth at his neck again.

"Who's your momma?" I growled out.

"You." He said with a tremor in his voice.

I smiled against his neck and kissed his cheek before I jumped up and pulled him up as well. I looked around and was instantly embarrassed that everyone was standing around and watching me with shocked expressions. Apparently they had been watching our sparring match.

Peter stared at me with a strange look in his face and his colors shifted a little. Immediately, I regretted that shift as I knew it had something to do with me.

"Did I do something wrong, Peter?" I asked in a small voice when he just continued to stare at me. My voice seemed to break him out of his reverie as he shook his head.

"No Bella, you didn't do anything wrong, quite the opposite actually. I thought you said you had no experience fighting?"

I looked at him funny. "Of course I have no experience fighting…. Peter you saw how I was before the change and I obviously haven't had time to fight anyone yet." I pointed out.

"Bella, you just took me down, _three _times." He said with awe and confusion.

"Perhaps you shouldn't have been holding back, Peter." I huffed out with annoyance. I hated when others treated me differently.

He started laughing hysterically and I wondered, like so many times since I met Peter, if vampires could become insane. After he calmed his laughter he looked at me and clapped me on the back. "That's funny, Bella. You thought I went easy on you?" he pretended to wipe invisible tears away from his eyes.

"Bella, as you know, I was Jasper's second-in-command while we were in Maria's army. I fought alongside him and I have the scars to prove it. I have _never_ lost a fight. Sugar, _that_ was all you. I fought you just like I would an enemy."

"It was just a fluke. Beginner's luck mixed with newborn strength." I said even though I was starting to get a little freaked out. This _was_ my first fight but it all felt so natural to me and it felt like I knew exactly what I needed to do in order to take down my opponent.

"Char and Carlisle, would you come here please?" Peter asked. They came to us and I gave Peter an inquisitive look. "Let's just see how far this 'luck' will take you, shall we?"

I smirked. "Give me what you got, Petey-boy"

I crouched down while Peter, Char, and Carlisle circled me. I felt uncomfortable having someone behind me but I felt confidence I didn't even know I had. I jumped up and flipped out of the circle and before anyone realized that I was gone, I took out Carlisle's legs from underneath him.

I sprung back into a crouch and advanced on Char. I didn't know much about her fighting skills but I did know that she was a newborn in Maria's army as well. Once I get my hands on that wench Maria, I am going to make her pay for all the suffering she put my family through. Just thinking about her made my rage boil.

Peter tried to sneak up behind me but I did a cartwheel between him and Char. When I was a safe distance away I went to spring forward on them but Carlisle caught my legs and pulled me to the ground. He tried to pin me down but I flipped him off of me and flipped myself into another crouch.

They all three began advancing on me so I stalked forward. Char threw a punch at me but I ducked it while my hand glanced off of Peter's fist that was aimed at my ribs. Carlisle tried to move to my side but I tripped his legs out from under him.

I was starting to get frustrated so I closed my eyes briefly and when I opened them again I felt a renewed sense of determination. I grabbed onto Carlisle and threw him into Peter and Char. All three fell to the ground and I pinned Char quickly and took her out by pressing my teeth to her throat. I kissed her cheek before I jumped up and caught Carlisle off-guard. I took him out quickly as well.

Last but not least was my darling Peter. He lunged for me but I used his momentum to fling myself up in the air and land on his back. He fell face down into the dirt and tried to kick me off until he felt my teeth against his neck. I jumped up and held out my hand to him. He took it but with apprehension in his eyes.

He began pacing and I noticed that the entire family was staring at me wide eyed and, yes, jaws slacked in shock. I began to get very self-conscious until Edward came up to me and wrapped his hands around my waist and held me from behind. He kissed my neck and whispered in my ear, "Just give him a minute Love. You were fabulous by the way." I smiled and felt relieved.

Peter stopped pacing and came to stand in front of me. "Bella, _how_ did you do that?" He asked with intense curiosity.

"I don't know. It just all seemed like instinct to me. It was like I just _knew_ what needed to be done. I know that it doesn't make sense but that is the best that I can explain it. I'm sorry." I said as I lowered my eyes some in embarrassment. I am actually glad that the traitor blush that graced my face my entire life is finally gone.

"Bella, do you realize that you just took down the three best fighters here?" I stared at him in shock. "At the _same_ time?" I looked around to Char and Carlisle and they both nodded with pride shining in their eyes for me.

"But I didn't even know how to fight until we started! Something must be off." I tried to reassure myself mainly.

"I have a theory, if you are interested in hearing it." Carlisle said as he came forward to stand in front of me and beside Peter. I nodded for him to continue. "Bella, your abilities were always strong as a human and once Edward introduced venom into your system your abilities and characteristics began to enhance themselves through the venom. I believe that along with those characteristics, your instincts were also enhanced. Once you completed your transformation, those already enhanced characteristics such as your instincts, became even that more powerful."

"When we were at Prom, Bella had a confrontation with two girls and Bella got really territorial of me exactly the same way as a vampire would. I believe you are right, Carlisle." Edward agreed.

I thought back to when I almost ripped Jessica and Lauren's faces off and giggled. I hid my face in Edward's chest for a moment until the giggling subsided. "Sorry, continue, please."

Carlisle looked over at Peter and Peter stepped forward and put his hands on my shoulders. "Bella, I knew that you would lead us but I didn't realize how quickly you would take to it. I would have to say that you are the most powerful Wo…vampire I have ever encountered. You _just_ learned to fight and look how you are fighting. You took down Char and I who were in the Southern Vampire Wars as well as Carlisle who fought for the Volturi."

I glanced at Carlisle who looked away and I saw shame emanating from him. Hmm, it appears as though my interpretations of the emotions are changing. For some reason I knew that the new color addition to Carlisle's aura meant shame. Odd. I wonder if this is how Jasper senses emotions.

"Perhaps I am just good at fighting." I suggested.

"Perhaps…. Let's see." He smirked at me. "Esme, Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Edward, will you please join us?" They all eagerly joined our group and Edward stepped up to go behind Peter. "Okay, we are going to see just how far our little Bella can go. _Do not_ take it easy on her. Fight with all your might and all your strength. No going easy, got it?" He asked them all sternly. They nodded and he looked at me and winked.

I crouched down, ready to fight as Peter came after me from the front. Emmett and Alice came after each side of me. The rest were circling them. I had nowhere to go now so I did the only thing I could and jumped as high as I could go.

Mid air, I twisted and landed on Alice's shoulders. I don't know how she didn't see me coming but I surprised her when I pressed my teeth to her neck. I kissed her head as I flipped off of her back and landed behind Esme. I caught her off-guard as I pressed my teeth to her neck.

Peter blindsided me with his right hook as it connected with my jaw. The force from his punch threw me across the yard and into a tree. I shook off the soreness in my jaw and jumped to my feet.

Emmett came charging at me and threw a punch at me but I quickly ducked it. He threw another but I ducked that as well. He was starting to get frustrated so with the next punch I used his arm to hurl myself onto his shoulders. My teeth grazed his neck as I felt someone pull me off of his shoulders. Rose had me with my arms behind my back.

Before she had the chance to finish me, I threw my body back with enough force to send us flying backwards and we knocked into Char on the way. All three of us went down but I was the first to recover. Carlisle came at me next and I dodged his attempts and whirled around until I found his neck.

I only had Char, Rose, Peter, and Edward left. Peter was coming at my left while Char was coming at my right. Rose and Edward were coming side by side up to my front. I smirked at Peter while Char charged me and I quickly duck while grabbing her hand and throwing her into Peter. They both fell to the ground and it took a moment for them to recover.

Edward came lunging at me but my foot tripped him on his way. He flew a few yards before springing back to his own two feet and running back at me. Rose was running at me the same time as Edward so at the last minute, I jumped up and they collided with each other. The sound that they made sounded like boulders colliding. I am sure had I been human it would have been deafening. Before they could recover, I had both of them finished.

Now all that was left was Peter and Char. While ducking and avoiding a few punches, I flipped onto Peter's shoulders and got him out while flipping in the air and doing the same with Char. I kissed her cheek before I jumped off of her shoulders. I looked around at everyone with the biggest grin on my face.

"Beginner's luck still, Bella?" Peter smirked.

"I suppose not." I laughed and everyone joined in. "It still doesn't make sense though."

Peter looked at me and smiled his cocky lazy half-grin. "Yes, it does, Majorette Swan." He saluted me and I stared at him confused so he explained. "Jasper is Major Whitlock so it's only fair that you are Majorette Swan because I have never met anyone who could show Jasper a run for his money. I believe you may outrank him with more practice but just don't tell him that. He'd make sure I never found all of my body parts." Peter cringed at the mental image and I just laughed at the absurdity of it but the more I thought about it, the more I could imagine Jasper hiding Peter's body parts for ransom and cracked up laughing.

"Okay, I really need to hunt so why don't we call it a night?" Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. "Great…. I want to call a family meeting later so please be in hearing range of the house or have your cell on you." They all told me to have a good hunt and Edward agreed to go with me. I am thankful because I didn't think I could handle being alone. When I let my instincts take over it's quite overwhelming.

After I fed, I lay down on the ground and watched Edward take down his prey. There was something extremely animalistic in the lust I was feeling as I saw him take down his kill. If my mind, heart, and emotions weren't being weighed down by what I needed to accomplish to get Jasper back, I am sure he wouldn't even have finished the blood before I attacked him myself.

I watched as he finished and buried his kill and walked slowly over to me. I think he could feel my emotions and didn't want to invade my thinking. I smiled at him and motioned for him to join me. He lay down beside me while I rested my head on his chest. He began to play with my hair but didn't bother me with questions. He knew that I needed to sort some things out and for that I needed to think. I appreciated his understanding more than he could expect.

I sighed and relaxed into him and closed my eyes while my mind drifted to what was important in this moment: Get Jasper back.

How would I get Jasper back? I knew that he was being held by Maria but I have no idea how many numbers she has with her. She could have hundreds of vampires working under her for all we knew. She would also be expecting us so we needed help to try and even out the numbers but I am certain that the numbers would still be in her favor no matter who we got to help us.

Should I go alone so I don't risk anymore family members being caught or injured? I couldn't live with myself if anyone got hurt or killed. No, it would be suicide for both Jasper and me if I went in there alone. I may be able to take down the family in a mock-fight but there is no way I could take down Maria's army. Nope, I had to take the family but it would be my job to keep them safe.

A flash of pain shot through me and I shuddered. _Just like you were supposed to keep Ruby safe?_ I cringed at that thought. I doubt I would ever get over the guilt of Ruby's death. It would forever taint my hands just as if I were the one to take the life from her myself.

I sighed but I felt a surge of determination as well. I _would_ keep them safe. There was no other option. I couldn't get Jasper back by myself so I would just have to keep everyone safe. I need to work with Peter, Char, and Carlisle since they have the most experience. I am sure that Maria has very talented fighters so I need to learn all the dirty tricks that these three can teach me and knowing Peter, he'd have plenty in his arsenal.

I jumped to my feet while startling Edward in the process. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand. We began running back to the house but I held back so we could run hand in hand. I loved running beside Edward. It was an exhilarating experience. We neared the house so we slowed down and walked at a human pace up the steps and up to our room.

I stopped when he closed the door and I leaned up to kiss him. When we broke away, he leaned his forehead on mine and breathed out, "I love you so much Bella."

I smiled and kissed him once more. "The feeling is definitely mutual, baby."

He smiled back at me and kissed me once more. If we didn't stop this, we'd never stay focused and that is what we all need at the moment. I broke away from the kiss and headed to the bathroom. I desperately needed a shower after all of the hunting and fighting I did. I can only imagine what I look like.

I got into the bathroom and turned the shower on full heat. I let it run while I undressed and sighed as I stepped into the hot water. The sensation felt amazing. I quickly scrubbed away all the dirt, grime, and blood with my trusty loofa and washed my hair with my amazing strawberry shampoo. Every smell was enhanced and I nearly moaned at the wonderful smell of the strawberry scent that now coated my hair.

I shut off the shower, grabbed a towel, and hopped out of the shower. I wrapped it around my body and took another towel to dry my hair. Once my hair was only damp, I dried the rest of myself off. I walked out into the bedroom in only a towel and found Edward lying on the bed all clean from a recent shower. He must have used the hallway shower instead of waiting or joining me… _Stop the bad thoughts, Bella!_

He looked at me curiously and I just blew him a kiss and headed to the closet. I grabbed a brown fitted shirt that had a belt attached to it and some low hip hugger jeans. I pulled on some undergarments and pulled on my jeans and shirt quickly. I am so love the vampire speed.

I grabbed my brush from the dresser and went to stand in front of the full length mirror. I began brushing my hair out until my eyes caught my reflection. I gasped and dropped the brush.

Edward rushed to my side. "What's the matter, Bella?" He asked while looking me over for any signs of my distress.

I couldn't even answer him as I lifted my shirt up over my head. He growled as he took in my reflection. Along my arms, chest, and stomach were over fifteen crescent shaped scars. I recognized them as the same kind that Jasper has covering his body. They are vampire bite marks. I turned around and saw five more along the back of my shoulders. My eyes began to sting as I lowered my pants. I began shaking when I saw four more on each leg.

Edward held me steady in his arms because I am sure I would have fallen over from the shock of it all. He led me over to the bed and pulled me back as he scooted up to the headboard. He pulled my head down onto his chest and began stroking my hair. He raised my hair some and started growling. I instinctively raised my hand up to feel the skin. Sure enough there were a few marks there as well. I felt the other side and there were two that I could feel.

I don't know how long he held me or how long I sobbed into his chest but once I calmed down, I pulled back and kissed his lips chastely to show him how much I was grateful that he was there for me. Normally I would be embarrassed that someone saw me like that but this was my Edward. He was my savior, my angel, my soul, and my heart's love. He's the other half of me.

"Thank you." I told him as I sat up and just laid my head on his shoulder. He grabbed my hand and began to play with my fingers absently.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"I think so. It's just a little much. Why did my other scars disappear but those remained?" I asked him in a small voice.

"Vampire venom is the only thing strong enough to leave a mark on vampire skin. So if you are bitten, even before or during the transformation, it will leave a scar." He said apologetically as if this was his fault it happened.

"Hey there…None of that, Edward. This is not your fault. None of it is." I assured him. I laughed once, "Looks like I can't escape the scars of my past no matter what creature I become." I tried to joke but even I could feel how fake it was. Edward just pulled me closer and nuzzled his face into my neck and inhaled deeply. He seemed to visibly calm down so I just held onto him knowing this was as hard on him as it was on me.

"Bella," he said as he raised his head to stare into my eyes. "You have never been more beautiful to me. As hard as it is to see your beautiful body scarred, and that is simply because I know the pain that put them there, these scars are badges of courage.

"Remember what I told you the last time we were here like this? Bella, I see each and every scar of yours as a testament to your strength. I think you proved to us today just how strong you are, Love. Never doubt your strength or your beauty. You are simply the finest specimen of both qualities." I felt my heart swell as he whispered into my ear how much he loved me and how beautiful I was to him inside and out.

After a while, I pulled myself away from him as I turned and kissed him lightly on the lips. I put my shirt back on and I grabbed a zip-up hoodie that matched to go over it. Edward may not be bothered by my scars but I wasn't ready to showcase them for everyone just yet. I left my hair down to cover the marks on my neck. Edward and I then made our way down to the dining room hand in hand.

I called everyone to join us and we all sat around the table. Everyone looked at me expectantly and I mentally rolled my eyes. I am not a leader.

"Thank you all for coming tonight. I wanted to also thank you for the training earlier. I am confident that with some more practice that we will have an advantage. Maria may have numbers but we have something that they do not." I paused and looked at everyone before continuing, "We have a purpose. Jasper is family and nobody messes with our family. I can guarantee you that once this is done, everyone will think twice before they confront us again." I gave Emmett a wicked smile which he returned. Oh yes, he and I have another thing in common now.

"What's the plan, boss?" Peter smirked at me.

I glared at him and growled out, "Do not call me boss, sweet-thang, honey-cakes, sweet buns, or anything else. Trust me; I can come up with a lot more embarrassing things than that. Got it, Big-Daddy-Pete?" Everyone burst out laughing as Peter's eyes grew three times in size. He nodded and gave me that _'we will talk later'_ look.

"So sugar, what's the plan?" Char asked while winking at me. Peter had Char to thank for giving me that Big-Daddy-Pete information. I would, however, make sure he never knew who gave me the knowledge. You must keep your enemy on his toes. Peter isn't my enemy but the saying still applies.

"Edward explained to me that everyone trained some for the previous rescue mission. This is good so we don't have to spend too much time preparing. Peter doesn't believe that Maria will physically hurt Jasper and I trust his opinion on this. If I thought we could pull it off, I would say we go in now and get him back; but that won't work. Maria knows how much we care for Jasper and she knows that we won't leave him. She will be expecting us to come back for him and she will be ready for that. From what Jasper has told me, Maria is _gifted_ with planning." I looked over to Peter to confirm this and he nodded.

"Yes, she is extremely gifted when it comes to seeing outcomes. Nothing like our pocket-pixie over here," he ruffled Alice's hair which made her glare at him. "However, Maria is talented, nonetheless."

"We will not be able to ambush her, but we will definitely be able to surprise her. In order to do that, however, we must be prepared for anything. I have been working on different scenarios and I honestly believe that we can have an advantage here. We will be on her territory but we have something we would all die to protect. That fact alone will make us work harder than anyone in her troops."

I got up and started to pace. I had to keep my focus and everyone's colors were starting to distract me. As I spoke, they started to fluctuate as if in response to my words.

"Okay we will need some more training and more numbers. I don't want to involve too many people but we need extra help if we want Jasper to remain safe. Carlisle I need you to call the Denali Coven, Peter I want you to call anyone you know. I am sure there must be tons of vampires in Texas who aren't too fond of Maria. They will be apprehensive about going against such power, but promise them that it will be worth their while. I will contact the pack to see if Sam and Jacob would be willing to lend us aid."

They agreed to their tasks so I sat back down but made sure I didn't focus on anyone too long. Edward noticed my hesitance and grabbed my hand. "Are you okay, Love?" I just gave him a small smile and nodded my head.

"Esme, I would like for you to be in charge of getting our supplies ready. If the wolves decide to assist us, we will have to have human provisions for them. That means food, water, blankets, clothes, and personal necessities." I smiled at her enthusiasm as she nodded her head quickly. I knew that Esme loves to take care of others. She has a gentle soul.

"Emmett, you are good with computers. I want you to see if you can crack into any surveillance that Maria may have on her property. I am sure Char could help you with anything that you would need." I looked to Char and she nodded at me.

"Peter, Jasper mentioned that he has a contact, J. Jenks , who handles everything legal for him. I need you to contact him because the wolves will need a separate identification than they have now. Just in case something goes wrong, they need to be able to lay low for a while. We are bringing them into this so it is our responsibility to make sure they have what they may need. Also, we will need to set up a bank account under Sam's new identity. That way the pack has funds should something happen to the rest of us." Everyone cringed at the thought of something happening to us but I had to bring those possible realities up.

"Carlisle, you are in charge of getting all medical supplies together. Just because the vampires won't need the supplies doesn't mean the wolves won't. Make sure that you will have everything you may need to care for serious injuries. Also, I was thinking that it may be a good idea to get the wolves to donate some blood prior to leaving. You can keep it fresh enough to work in an emergency. I'm not sure what would occur if we mix werewolf and human blood so better to be safe than sorry.

"Rose, we will be driving there so I need you to make sure the cars are in the best shape they can be in."

She looked at me and asked, "Which ones?"

I smirked. "All of them". I could see the excitement in her eyes. Cars were her element and she was the best of the best when it came to fixing them.

I walked over and knelt beside Alice. I took her hands in mine and kissed her cheek. "Alice, I know that right now is excruciating for you. I know what you are feeling and I can assure you that we will get him back. If not, then you can kick Petey's ass." I smirked at Peter and my heart leapt when I heard Alice's tinkling laughter. It was a small giggle but it was there. "I have something important for you to do. I need you to keep an eye out for any decisions relating to Maria or Jasper. I have a feeling that Maria is counting on us seeing her through your visions so I think she will try to trick you with fake visions."

She looked at me curiously. "How would she do that?"

I looked her in the eye and made the decision to slap Edward across the face. I knew that I would never do that but I had to get Alice to see the difference between the real visions and fake ones. She gasped and glared at me.

"Bella, are you angry with me?" Edward asked in an uncertain voice in response to Alice's vision. I knew that after my outburst earlier, Edward was afraid of my feelings some. It hurt that I put that uncertainty there. I will have to do something to eradicate those uncertain feelings.

I raised an eyebrow at Alice and waited for her to connect the dots. "But it felt so real; I felt your emotions and everything. How can that be?" She asked as her eyes glossed over to look for an explanation.

"Alice, did anything feel different with that vision?" I asked. I was fairly certain of what I was doing but everything was happening so fast and everything was so new and different to me. It's odd to think that I _just_ woke up as an immortal not too long ago. I feel as though I have always been this way.

Her eyes focused back on me as her eyebrows pulled together in concentration. "It felt like all the other visions. It was like I could feel your emotions and they felt pure and real. There was _something_ though. It may not make sense but it was like an intuitive feeling. Something just felt off about the vision."

"Very good," I smiled at her. "The reason it felt off was because it was fabricated. You have yet to realize the full abilities of your gift, Alice." Great, now I am cryptic like Peter. Peter smirked at me as if reading my mind.

"Alice, it's imperative that you listen to your intuition. Yours is more heightened than most because of your gift. Your gift allows you to see the future but it also allows you to know when someone is playing around with your visions. I need you to look out for Maria, her army, Jasper, and also our family. I have a feeling that Maria may also try to get around your visions by having someone else call the shots. There is only so much that she can control you from seeing. Can you do this for me?" I asked her. I needed to give her something as a distraction and she was one of the key elements in our mission. Her foresight will help to protect us.

"I will do anything that you ask, Bella. Jasper is my husband and I will do what it takes to get him back with us safe and sound… Bella, I want to thank you. You are his best friend and you mean so much to him. I want to apologize for not taking better care of him. Before you came into our lives, I hadn't realized how much I took away from him. I found him with the help of my visions and I brought him to this family. I helped him with this lifestyle and he helped me. However, somewhere along the way, I took away his choices and his friends." She looked apologetically at Peter and Char and then back at me.

"I tried to change his personality to better fit mine. I didn't stop to realize that he was perfect the way he was. When you came to us, even from the first day, Jasper identified with you because you two shared the same kind of pain and you both had pasts that haunted you; something I never truly understood before. Together, you began healing each other. Jasper often talked about you when we were alone. He would tell me how gentle and pure a soul you have. He has never met anyone like you, Bella. He would tell me how much you have helped him. Nobody, not even me unfortunately, has ever accepted Jasper the way you have.

"I don't know why, Bella, but you are the one person who has been able to change Jasper into the man he once was. The man he was when he was human. I know that I never did intentionally, but I did hurt him. Jasper has never seen it this way but I have….. Bella, you have saved him in more ways than one and I am forever thankful to you for that. I know how much he means to you, sis, and I want you to know that I will never again take him for granted. If I ever hurt him, I promise that you have full authority to burn every piece of clothing I have." I wanted to laugh at her joke but I was too shocked. Alice _never_ joked about her clothes so I knew just how serious she was.

"Alice, you needn't thank me or apologize to me. You didn't do anything wrong. I know how much you care for Jasper. He's to you what Edward is to me." I smiled over at Edward before returning my focus back to Alice. "Jasper is my best friend and, yes, he has healed me in ways that I could never repay him for. We are able to understand each other better because even though our pasts are different, we both know all too well about pain, suffering, and torment. Sometimes we joke that we have literally lived in the deepest pits of Hell and came back. I think that is one reason we are so close to one another. Until you go through what we have, there is no way to fully understand our daily struggles and suffocations.

All I can ask is that you allow him to make his own choices and support his decisions. He loves you more than anything in this world, Ali, so don't waste your time together with trivial things. Once you let him open up and you see the real him, you'll love the man that he is. You may have opposite personalities, but that just makes your love stronger. And I want to thank you for understanding our connection to one another. Not everyone would allow their husband to be best friends with another woman. Once we get him back, don't ever let him go. He's an amazing man, Alice." I told her with all the sincerity that I felt.

I think that had things been different, and Jasper wasn't with Alice and I wasn't with Edward, I think there would have been an almost absolute certainty that Jazz and I would be together. There is no way to explain the connection that we have but thankfully neither of us finds any romance in one another. We are simply just best friends and will always remain that way.

She wrapped her tiny arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder. I stroked her hair and held her until she was done. She looked at me embarrassed and I just kissed her forehead and gave her a small smile before I stood up.

"When will we leave?" Edward asked me while he looked at me with concern in his eyes.

I knew that he didn't want me fighting but he knew I could take care of myself as well. However, his need to protect me was strong enough that he was battling himself over allowing me to fight or making me sit out. He knew that I would not allow him to make that decision for me so I am glad that he kept his opinion to himself.

"That's a good question. I hate the thought of leaving Jasper by himself for any longer than necessary, but we also want to catch Maria as off-guard as possible so we can tip the hand in our favor. It will take a couple of days for everyone to be assembled and ready to go plus we also need more training and provide it to those who will fight alongside us. I believe that we should leave in one week. That will give us time to train and make sure we are as ready as we can be. We can't go into this thing half-cocked. As Emmett would say 'we have to go into this thing with guns blaring and ready to hand their asses to them,'but we also need to be smart about this." Everyone burst out laughing and it warmed my dead heart to hear my suffering family actually laugh despite the stress and grief they are going through.

After the laughter died down I looked at each member of our family. "Are there any questions?"

Carlisle stood up. "It's not really a question but I would like to thank you as well, Bella. Ever since you came into our lives, you have brought nothing but goodness to this family. You have taught us strength, understanding, acceptance, forgiveness, and what it truly means to be a family. You have a heart that is the purest I have ever encountered and after all that you have been through, you aren't afraid to open your heart and love. You love us unconditionally and you are willing to protect and fight for us. You are part of this family and will always be; Bella, thank you for not only loving us but for not giving up on us."

If I had been able to, I would be soaked in tears. I knew that my family loves me but looking around the table at all of the nods, I finally realized how deeply they all cared for me. The Cullens took me in when I was alone and broken. They protected me and helped my body, heart, and mind to heal. They made me family and accepted me as well as my past. They showed me what _family_ really was. Up until I met them, I had forgotten what the word even meant. Now, looking around at each member of my family, I knew that _this_ is where I belonged all along.

I smiled appreciatively at Carlisle and after another ten minutes of questions and answers, the meeting came to a close. Everyone began to drift out but I had something I needed to speak with Peter about.

"Peter, can I speak to you for a moment?" He looked at me like he knew what I was going to talk about and I again wondered, for the thousandth time, how his gift worked. He nodded and held out his arm for me to link mine with. I laughed at his gesture and took his arm in mine as we strolled out into the moonlit night. We walked until we were out of hearing and mindreading distance. We walked over to a fallen log and sat down.

"What's up Sweet thang?" He smirked.

I sighed. "You know I hate when you call me that."

He snickered. "That's why I do it. Plus you know deep down that you love it." He eyed me challengingly.

I giggled and punched him in the arm which he winced at. "Yeah I do".

"So what have you been seeing?" He asked me while looking at me curiously.

"That gift of yours is creepy, Petey." I said as I scrunched my nose up.

He scoffed. "It is _not_ a gift. I'm more masculine than having a _gift_."

I rolled my eyes at him. "How does your _un-_gift work?"

He narrowed his eyes in annoyance but got over it quickly and shrugged. That is something I loved about Peter. He got over things quickly and didn't take anything too seriously unless need be. "I am not sure, exactly. I just know things. It's like a thought in my head. Jazz used to joke that I was all-knowing. I guess the best way to describe it is like an errant thought but I have never been wrong yet. I don't know how it works just that it does work."

I was quiet while I took this in. After a minute I looked back to him and focused on his colors. "So that is how you knew that I was seeing things?"

"Yeah, I also recognized the look in your eyes that showed you were trying to figure something out. To others who didn't know what was going on, it looked like you were just distracted about Jazz." He explained.

"Well, I was that as well." I sighed. "I'm seeing colors. They circle people. The first ones I saw were with Alice. It was a dark color surrounding her heart. It hurt to look at and I could tell that it meant she was hurting. I looked around the room and noticed each person had the underlying dark color but was surrounded each by different colors. After we were training, the way I perceived the colors began to change. Now I get an instinctive feeling that tells me what the colors represent."

"Interesting," Peter said thoughtfully.

"Hardly. It's very distracting" I huffed. "Do you know what it is like to look at someone and be entranced by the colors surrounding them and not be able to actually focus on them?" I asked rhetorically. Recognition flashed through his eyes before he shrugged. I had a feeling that he was hiding something but I didn't pay it much mind. He would come to me when he was ready.

"Don't worry, Bells. You'll learn to control it. Eventually you will be able to turn it off and look around normally instead of seeing everyone's auras. You are very lucky, Bella. You can see people's souls. You can separate the pure from the evil and the good from the bad. You have been given this gift to be able to protect those who deserve it. Everyone needs a hero and you have been given to the people as theirs." I wanted to scoff at the insane idea of me protecting people but the look in Peter's eyes told me that he was being honest. I didn't know what to say and I couldn't wrap my head around it.

After a few minutes I smiled and hugged Peter. I then thought, _I will do everything in my power to save as many as I can from going through the Hell that I went through; starting with Jasper._

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**A/N: What do you think? Any ideas why Bella is so un-newborn-ish besides the theory that Carlisle has?**

***** Read and Review please. I absolutely L.O.V.E to hear your thoughts on the story.**

***** Question of the day… What is your favorite book? Send me your answer along with your review. This is what I would like to start doing. Each chapter I will have a 'Question of the day' so that I can learn more about you guys and then it isn't just like me posting to post. Take care and have a great week! I will update as soon as possible.**


	4. Welcome Back Major Whitlock

_**A/N: Here is the next chapter. I was missing Jazz so here he is. He is currently captured by Maria. I always hated Maria with a passion so I hope I pulled off her evilness well. **_

_***** This chapter has been edited and this one is the final version. Nothing big was changed; it was just improved.**_

_*****This chapter is dedicated to: Mountainlion718**_

_***** A special thanks to: Japserose for doing the final edit on this chapter :)**_

_***** Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the original Twilight Saga. I do own, however, my plot, ideas, and original characters. All proper rights go to . **_

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_**JPOV**_

_Maria's lackey held me immobile while she walked up to me and whispered into my ear, "You know, Major, it has not been the same without you here." She felt her way up my stomach to my chest and tangled her fingers in my hair. "I knew, though, that it would be only a matter of time before you came back to me." She pulled my face fcloser to hers and breathed her words to my lips._

"_Don't worry, Mi Amor, nobody has taken your place. You will once again be my right hand man and you will lead my army. It will be like you never left." Her touch made my skin crawl and I could feel the malevolent and malicious emotions that have always been inside of Maria. She is evil incarnate and I had never hated anyone the way I hated her._

_I tried to move myself away from her but the newborn's strength was immense. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though because Maria always did have a knack for finding talented humans to change. Had I been in control of my motion, she would definitely not have her hands right now for invading my space like that. I do not belong to her__.__ As soon as possible I would make this fact very clear._

"_What makes you think that I would join you again? I left you, Maria, the second I found out that there was a better life out there." I spat._

_Maria's eyes flashed angrily at the mention of my abandonment.__Maria has always been too full of pride and it has always been her biggest weakness. She drew her lip back over her teeth in a snarl and her eyes turned pitch black in anger. She looked like a true vampire now. "You are here and you will do as I say. Do I make myself clear, Major?" _

"_What makes you so certain about this?" I asked with a little smugness. Being able to injure Maria, albeit only verbally, gave me a pleasure unsurpassed by any form of entertainment._

_She laughed and smirked at me. "Have you forgotten about your dear Isabella?" _

_A smirk played on the corners of her lips."Ah, I see you do not take kindly to your pet being mentioned." _

_I glared at her and with every ounce of venom I had and said, "Bella is not a pet and you'd do best to remember that. If anything happens to her, I will kill you myself." A snarl ripped from my throat, which just enhanced her smirk. _

"_Oh, Mi Amor, you will do no such thing." She said as she tapped my nose with her finger. Oh what I wouldn't give to bite that damn finger off. I smiled at the image my mind conjured up._

"_You would do best to remember how easy it was for me to take your darling Isabella right from under your nose in the first place. It was no effort to grab her and was as easy as breathing for Emma. If you harm me or go against my orders, I will make sure that this time she does not survive being captured. You know how damn fragile those humans can be." The bitch had the audacity to giggle._

"_Maria, I am warning you," I growled. She flinched but quickly composed herself. She would never admit it, but I knew how she feared my strength and power. "If you touch a single hair on her head, I will make sure that you die a slow and painful death." My voice dripped with venom. If she, or any of her drones, even thought of hurting Bella, I would kill each and every one of them. After tearing them apart, I would burn the pieces slowly and dance merrily around the pyres._

"_Well then, Lover, do not give me reason to have Emma trace in and grab her again. If you are a good boy and play by my rules, I give you my word that no harm will come to your dear and precious Isabella." She smiled sweetly at me and I wished I could get physically sick to show her how her presence makes me feel. _

_I knew better than to trust her but what choice did I really have at the moment? I knew what Maria was capable of and I also knew that she has resources that nobody else knows about. She has contacts everywhere and I couldn't even guess as to who they are. There is no way that I could ensure Bella's safety unless I agreed to Maria's terms. Well, that was until I was able to kill her and her faithful followers. Once Maria is out of the picture, then Bella will be safe. I can then kill anyone who dares to come near her with any malicious intent._

_I growled in frustration. "Fine. If I play by your rules then you are not to harm Bella or anyone from my family. However, there are a few things that I will not do. One, I will not lead your army. Two, I will not train your newborns. Three, I will not feed from humans. You have me as a guest and nothing more. I will not try to escape but in return you will not, yourself or anyone else, go around my family. Do you understand?" I hissed. _

_Maria laughed as she patted my head. "Good boy. You will stay here and I will not harm your precious family". She spat the word family as if it were the most disgusting thing she'd ever had in her mouth._

_Anger and determination were two of the most dominant emotions that she had. When amusement suddenly entered that mix, I knew this wouldn't be good for me._

"_Bethany?" Maria called out. A few seconds later, girl with short brown hair came in. _

"_Yes, Mistress?" She asked as she bowed. I had to roll my eyes. Maria was always one who loved those to worship her. I nearly gagged thinking that I used to be just like Bethany.. How stupid I was back then._

"_Please show Major Whitlock to his…accommodations." Maria smiled at the child._

"_Yes, Mistress." Bethany bowed again and motioned for me to follow after her. I felt the newborn's hold on me loosen and I reluctantly followed after the child. I had to find a way to get out of here but still ensure Bella's safety. The only way to do that would be to kill Maria and her army._

That was three days ago. The accommodations that Maria so kindly provided for me was nothing more than an unfurnished room. She knows that a typical cell wouldn't hold me if I didn't allow it to so she decided to do the next best thing. I never fully appreciated the amenities that I had all of my years with Alice and the Cullens but I would definitely appreciate them now. What I wouldn't give to have a book to read or some music to listen to. I sighed and began singing songs in my head to pass the time.

Hours later, there was a knock at the door. I rolled my eyes as Maria entered the room. I don't know why she even bothers to knock. She believes she is above everyone anyway.

"Good Morning, Mi Amor." She danced her way over and kissed me on the cheek. Upon hearing my warning growl, she started laughing.

"What do you want?" I hissed as I stared at the wall. I hated her with every ounce of my being. Seeing her now, in such animation, made my stomach heave.

"Now, now, Mi Amor, that is no way to treat me." She chided me. "I am your creator and your master. You should be honored that I have come to pay you a visit. I do not do that with just anyone, you know. You, Jasper, are my most special prize. In all these years, I have never found anyone who came close to the ruthless leader you once were." She sat down beside me. I wanted to move away from her but I didn't want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she was getting to me.

"Let's get something clear. You are not my master. I govern myself-nobody else does. I am not honored that you came to see me because I would only be honored in your presence if you were dead. Finally, I am not that spineless leader anymore who follows you around like a lost puppy. I lead no one, Maria, and I sure as hell will not lead your army." I spat.

On the outside, she looked amused at my response, but her emotions were telling another story. She was getting agitated with my lack of cooperation and there was an underlying emotion that she was trying to hide: fear. Fear is a good emotion for me to work with because fear makes a person sloppy and unthinking. If I can get Maria to fear me enough without my gift, it would be easy to push artificial fear onto her as well and that would turn in my favor.

"All in good time, Major. Good things come to those who wait." She said with a shit-eating grin.

I glared at her and hissed. "What do you want, Maria?"

"Well, Mi Amor, I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to feed properly. I am famished and so I was hoping to spend lunch with you. I have a nice brunette." She smirked and I knew she really would do this in front of me. I internally cringed from this thought.

"I told you that I do not drink from humans," I reminded her with a cold glare.

"I know" she giggled, "but I do". One thing I have always hated most about Maria is her lack of humanity. She is cold, conniving, and evil. She would put the Devil himself to shame.

With a clap of her hands, a tall guy who could rival Emmett's size brought in a small brunette girl that looked to be no older than ten. The girl was terrified and I knew I couldn't save her, but I could at least keep her calm. I sent enough lethargy and calm to put her unconscious. I didn't think it was possible, but I hated Maria even more now.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Major. You seem to have grown soft in your old age" Maria taunted me but I didn't dignify her attempts with a response.

Maria took the girl from the man and sat down in the middle of the floor so she was facing me. She had the girl on her lap and was stroking her hair as if she cared for her. Right… Maria care for someone… not even when Hell freezes over.

"Now, what shall we do? It is rude to eat in front of guests who are not hungry. Perhaps once I begin, you will want to share. That would be alright, I suppose. I always did enjoy sharing a meal with you, Mi Amor. It's such a sensual experience. Wouldn't you agree?" She tried to act sexy but ended up looking ridiculous and ugly. I can't believe that at one point in time, I actually found Maria to be a great lover. I actually thought that I loved her. Ha! Right, like that would ever happen.

Maria traced the girl's features with her pale finger. Her pallor clashed with the girl's healthy summer tan, showing the difference between what the girl is now-living-and what she is about to be. She lowered her face to the girl's neck. Her lips drew backwards over her teeth and I heard the girl's flesh rip underneath the power of her razor sharp teeth.

I stopped breathing when the girl entered the room but her fresh blood still permeated the air and I could nearly taste it on my tongue. I closed my eyes and focused on trying to drown out the sucking sound that Maria was purposefully making in order to get me to snap. Perhaps a month ago, I would have snapped within seconds of the fresh blood pouring into Maria's mouth but Bella helped me to overcome the demon that controlled my bloodlust. Don't get me wrong, I still felt the bloodlust and it was difficult to sit here with Maria feeding, but Bella helped me to tame my bloodlust.

"_Jazz, what's it like to be a vampire?" Bella asked me one day when we were laying down and staring at the clouds. Before Bella insisted that today was a day to relax and watch clouds, I had never appreciated the delicate natural balance of life. Just laying here and seeing shapes in clouds is one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. But it's always that way with Bella; it's always as easy as breathing._

"_What would you like to know specifically?" I asked, trying to narrow down the information to give to her. I am not like the others, I will not edit or sugarcoat with Bella. She is strong and mature enough to know the horrid truth about us. _

"_Tell me what it was like when you woke up." She said. Her eyes were on the sky. _

_I took a deep breath and began. "When I woke up, I was very disoriented. I hadn't a clue where I was or what had happened. The last thing I remembered was stopping to help three women. Little did I know at the time that they were in no need of help or safety. Maria then came in and explained to me what happened, where I was, and what I was. She explained to me that she needed someone to lead her army and had a feeling that I would be that leader. _

"_While she was talking, I began to feel what she was feeling. It was very disconcerting. She then ordered someone to bring me someone to drink. At first I tried to resist but I was so thirsty and my instincts took over. I couldn't help it when I lunged at the guy that Maria had someone bring me. I was disgusted with myself for what I had done but I learned quickly that abiding by Maria's 'house rules' was the best idea. She didn't like it when people felt things she didn't feel. She had not one ounce of humanity in her so she hated when others were compassionate or remorseful." I shook my head at the memories and sighed._

"_After a week, we realized that I was an Empath and Maria began to train me so I could focus my power and see how far I could take it. After a few months I was able to control her newborns and she began to have me train them. She would never let them live past their first year unless they were talented like I was. There weren't many that she kept and I was the one she had to dispose of them."_

_Bella's emotions never reflected the disgust or the fear that I always expected to feel from her when I told her of my time with Maria. She always surprised me though with her accepting and pure heart. "What was the thirst like?" She asked as she faced me. Her eyes intently locked onto me and I mirrored her position._

"_It was excruciating. For a long time that was what drove me. It was an all-consuming fire that inhabited my every thought. Even after I learned to control the thirst, it was still there and it still consumed me. It got better eventually, but to be honest, it still controls me more than the rest of the family. I suppose it's because of my past and the fact I am the only one who has ever lived like a true vampire."_

"_How does human blood differ from animal blood?" She asked me. Her curiosity was palpable._

"_Human blood is far more satisfying. It quenches the thirst like nothing else can. It even temporarily removes the fire that is always in my throat. Animal blood doesn't do that. It quenches our thirst but never enough to sate us. Animal blood took a long time to get used to but it allowed me to be myself rather than a monster. I don't want to be a monster, Bella."_

_She smiled at me compassionately and gave my hand a squeeze. I squeezed back. I felt her excitement rise and looked at her questioningly. She had mischief in her eyes and I worried aboutwhat could have gotten her so excited. _

"_Jazz, I know a way to help your bloodlust. It's not fair for it to plague you so badly. You deserve this and I will help you!" She said as she sat up and came closer to me. I sat up to mirror her and raised an eyebrow, silently asking her to continue._

"_Edward told me after he tasted my blood that it was the most amazing thing he has ever tasted. He said human blood didn't even compare to it."_

"_Okay…" I said not knowing where this was going._

"_Jazz, you are going to sample my blood and then whenever the bloodlust gets to be too much you can remember my unique taste and know that nothing will compare to it." She said with a huge grin. If she smiled anymore I think her face would break in half. _

_I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "Bella, I can't just go around drinking your blood. What if I can't stop?" I asked her. I couldn't put Bella at risk like that._

_She narrowed her eyes. "Jasper Zachariah Whitlock! I am tired of you not having enough faith in yourself. You are a hell of a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. You handle your bloodlust plus the family's. I don't know how you could do that if you were weak. You wouldn't be able to. You need to trust yourself, Jasper, because I do." There were unshed tears in her eyes and I felt the trust she had in me and knew that I would do anything for her. I sighed and nodded my head._

"_Thank you, Jazz." She clapped her hands together. Okay, she was spending way too much time with Alice. "I know this will work." She smiled at me and I couldn't help returning the smile._

And it did work. I didn't feel it appropriate to mark her, since she was not mine, so she made an incision with my fingernail. She let the blood drip into a cup that she had grabbed from the kitchen. I groaned as I remembered the taste of her blood-pure ambrosia. It was the most amazing thing I had ever tasted, just like she had predicted. Bella was right and I was thankful to her for coming up with that idea. It might just help save me until I can find some way to escape.

Maria pulled me from the memories when she threw the body to the ground. Apparently the time I spent away from her did nothing for her manners.

"Jasper, you need to stop this foolishness. You are a vampire: a predator. You kill and you feed. You are not meant to resist your natural food source. You should stop pretending to be something you are not and give in. Jasper, if you forget about the Cullens, I will give you all of your heart's desires. I know that you must desire something, Mi Amor."

She came to kneel in front of me and placed her hands on my knees. Leaning in, she whispered in my ear, "Anything. You can have anything, Jasper. You can have riches, you can have conquests, and you can have your own territories full of blood. You can rule and people will fear you. But, you cannot do this if you keep resisting me. You were meant to lead. You were meant for great things. Help me to help you become that vampire again, Jasper."

Her lips were now hovering above mine. She leaned in as I turned my face. I hated for her to touch me anywhere, but I would sacrifice my cheek for the sake of my sanity. I cannot and will not return to the vampire I was before I met my Alice.

Maria growled and stood up. "I do not care how long it takes. I will wait until you realize your place is by my side. You are destined to be the leader of my army, Major Whitlock. Accept this. You will break and I will be waiting to put the pieces back. You will be my Major again. Just wait and see, Mi Amor." With that said, she turned and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

I sighed in relief. I resisted this time but how long can I resist without feeding? I knew for a fact that Maria would not get me a veggie meal and if she continued to bring her 'lunch' in with her, how long could I last? I couldn't imagine taking a life after what I have been through to change my diet. I just prayed that I would figure out a solution to getting away before the time came when I snapped. I thanked anyone up above for Bella suggesting the blood experiment thing because it's the only thing that saved me today.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the wall. What else could I do but think to pass the time? So, I thought about my beautiful Alice and her smiling, exuberant personality. She is a ball of energy and sunshine. My little Tinker Pixie found me during one of my most vulnerable times and she brought me to a new life. She gave me a chance at redemption for my past sins. She showed me love and she showed me family. Never again was I alone. Where I went, she went. We became one and I love her with my entire being.

_I promise you, Alice, that I will come home. I don't know how or when, but I promise I will make it._

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_***** Hate it? Love it? **_

_***** I always had hoped that Miss Meyer would add something more about Maria into the saga but she didn't so I decided that I would. I always thought that Maria should play a bigger part so here she is. Jasper is by far my favorite character so I tried to make Maria evil. It gets worse but, so far, what do you think of her?**_

_***** Review and let me know what you think I should add to the story. What would **_**you**_** like to see in it? I love your guys' creativity so hit me with it. Oh, and I will be putting up a poll about new characters that will be introduced and who will be part of not only this story, later on in the story, but also the third story. I will put up names and I want you all to vote on which you like more. Keep in mind that they will be vampires from all different eras. Choose which you love most.**_

_***** Question of the day: What is your favorite song? Mine, personally, is 'Welcome to the Black Parade' by My Chemical Romance. **_


	5. Prepartions

**A/N: Here is the next chapter. You all have been fabulous with the support of this story. I really hope that I am entertaining you all with this story. I think this sequel has more potential and I intend to take it as far as I can. **

***** This chapter is dedicated to: TwilightGirl217.**

***** Thank you my awesome Beta Jasperose for helping me out with preparing and editing this chapter :)**

***** Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the original saga. I do, however, own my ideas, plot, and personal characters. All proper rights go to their owners.**

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**EPOV**

I will admit that I have always worried about Bella. As a human, she had been through Hell –literally. Or the closest that living humans can get. She had been through so much abuse but she still stayed as strong as she could. Physically, she had problems as well, and apparently never had a normal life. She survived two car accidents and a bastard of a step-father.

After all of this, she endured not only a crazed vampire attack, but also being held captive by her step-father-turned vampire. Then to top it all off, she had to endure the pain of the transformation from human to vampire.

Bella is, dare I say, the strongest person I have ever met. I highly doubt anyone could handle what she has and still live life with a smile. My Bella is simply amazing.

Since she has awakened to this life as a newborn vampire, she has become even stronger in both physicality and will. In this short time that she has been an immortal, she has impressively put everyone's control to shame.

I have never seen a newborn that acts like Bella has been. She is too... calm. Don't get me wrong, Bella has shown her share of anger and confusion. I have also seen her guilt over the past as well as her fear for Jasper and our family. Despite all of this, though, Bella has been dealing with everything so much better than the rest of us. I suppose it shouldn't surprise me though because she has always been the toughest of us all.

Now, since I don't have to worry about her as much, I can relax a little and know that she can handle whatever stands in her way. She always handled things as a human and has survived outstanding odds. I believe, with everything that I am, that Bella will become very powerful with time. This thought is evident in the way that she put us all to shame with fighting without even so much as trying. Bella has never had any fight training but she took out the entire family with ease, as if it came naturally to her.

Something that I noticed was that her fighting skills are beyond anything I have ever seen. She can jump higher than any one of us, and she still keeps her composure while doing it. It was as if she wasn't giving herself over to her instincts fully, yet she beat every single one of us at the same time.

"She's something isn't she?" Peter asked as he sat down beside me on the ground.

I was currently watching Bella practice with Carlisle. She had been at it all day and her determination had not wavered in the least. She's focused on saving Jasper. I respect her decision to go and get Jasper back; he is my brother and I miss him. However, I don't want her to fight. I know she can take care of herself now, but I still have worrying ingrained inside of me.

"She sure is," I smiled. "She's exquisite".

Peter chuckled, "You have it bad." He punched me in my arm playfully.

He was quiet for a few moments as he was thinking. His was blocking his mind from me so I couldn't get a read on what he was thinking. "Edward," Peter began, "This is going to be a difficult fight for us to win. Maria has numbers and gifts on her side. I have called in some of my friends and they have agreed to help but Bella will be our biggest weapon, so to speak. She will be leading all of us and because of that, we have a fighting chance. There will come a time when you are forced to make a decision, Edward."

"What decision?" I asked as my anxiety increased. My mind ran through different scenarios and they all included Bella being hurt. My muscles tensed at these thoughts.

"I can't tell you what exactly and I really shouldn't be telling you this but when the time comes for that decision, I need you to remember that Bella has a destiny to fulfill. Bella has to go through something before she can become who she is meant to be. She is stronger than all of us and she is … _gifted._"

The way he said 'gifted' was as if he was trying to tell me something that I really shouldn't know about. But I couldn't help it when my curiosity got the best of me. "What do you mean by gifted?"

He shook his head at me and turned his focus to watch Bella as she pinned Carlisle to the ground in an unbreakable hold. I was momentarily entranced by her skills. I don't know what it is about her being so strong, but it definitely works in both her and my favor.

I turned my attention back to Peter before I began fantasizing about my Bella. "I can't tell you that, Edward. All I can say for now is that when the time is right, you will get to see firsthand what I mean. Don't worry about her. You can trust my advice because you know I would never do anything to harm her."

And it's true, he wouldn't harm her. "I know." I sighed. "I just can't help it sometimes. All I want is for her to be safe and happy." I began again to watch Bella who was now working with Charlotte.

"She will be happy. She's had one hell of a life but all of her suffering and burdens will not go unnoticed. Bella will be happy but first she has to learn to let go of her guilt and embrace her new life," Peter said as he smiled encouragingly at me.

After I thanked him for his advice, we sat in silence for a while. It was a comfortable silence. We both were caught up in our thoughts; I was thinking of Bella and he was thinking about strategies. He was like Jasper in many ways and it somewhat felt that Jasper was here with us. But, we couldn't be so lucky, could we? There is always something standing in the way of our family's happily ever after. I just hope that after we get Jasper back that things will finally calm down around here. I have had enough excitement of these sorts for a century to come.

"Well, looks like I'm up next." Peter said, mischief in his eyes. "Remember what I said, Edward." I nodded and watched him walk up to Bella as she finished off Charlotte.

"Bells, I want to try something new with you. We all know that you can fight but I know that you don't fully rely on your instincts yet. You are quite the unusual creature, Bells." He smirked and she rolled her eyes at him.

"What would you like to try?" She asked, smiling at him. I could tell that she really enjoyed her new physicality. I cannot express how thankful I am that her physical problems didn't carry over to her new life. I couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it would be on her to live eternity using crutches.

Medically, her transformation was remarkable. Neither Carlisle nor I were sure that the venom would cure her paralysis but we were both quite thankful when it did. Bella never knew but Carlisle and I worked ever since Bella expressed her wish to become one of us. We called all of the trustable vampire contacts that we knew in an attempt to find out if the venom would cure her problems.

No one gave us an answer that we were satisfied with, and we began to lose hope until Peter came along. One day, while Bella was sleeping, he found us working in Carlisle's office. He came in, sat down, and asked us what we were working on. I had a feeling that he already knew but nothing in his mind showed any confirmation of this.

Carlisle told him that we were looking to find an answer to whether or not the venom would work on Bella's physical issues. He nodded and said, "Yes, it will work". We asked him how he knew and he just pointed to his head.

I knew, roughly, of Peter's _gift_ but I also knew that I could trust him. That trust was based on the fact that he would never do anything to harm Bella. He quickly became like an older brother to her and I knew I could trust her with him.

Ever since that day, I have been watching Peter closely. I have a feeling that he knows more about what's going on with Bella than he is sharing but I know that I will have to wait to find out what the big secret is. Bella's enhancements seem to be extraordinary, even for a vampire, so I know that something is off and it worries me. However, I will just have to trust Peter on this.

I was brought out of my musings when I what sounded like thunder. I looked towards the sound and saw Bella rubbing her jaw. I went to get up and go to her aid but stopped when she looked in my direction and gave me a small smile to show me she was okay.

I was nowhere near comfortable when it came to someone hitting Bella but I knew that Peter couldn't physically damage Bella unless he ripped her to pieces and burned those pieces; something he would never do. Yet, it still physically pained me to see anyone hurt my Bella, even in the least.

Vampires are instinctual creatures so we typically act on impulse. The number one instinct that a vampire has is to feed. However, when a vampire meets his or her mate, the number one instinct is to protect that mate. We are irrevocably changed once our mate enters our life. That's what Bella did to me. I only existed before her. She has given me life, love, and hope. Bella has made me start to live life again; something I was so certain wasn't possible for me.

I returned my focus to Bella and Peter as I saw him take out a black piece of cloth.

"Why are you blindfolding me?" Bella asked Peter with mere curiosity.

"Simple. You need to learn to rely on all of your instincts. If you cannot see, then you must use all of your senses to determine a threat." Peter said as he tied it around her eyes.

"I don't know…" She trailed off, unsure.

"Don't worry. I know you can do this," Peter said with a smirk. I, again, wondered just how far his gift went or if he just had other knowledge that we all were unaware of.

"Fine," she huffed out. I had to hold in a chuckle because she was just too cute when she was agitated like this. Don't get me wrong, she is a force to be reckoned with when she is truly angry, but this agitation reminded me of a kitten trying to be a tiger; something I used to associate Bella with when she was still human. However, now Bella _is_ the tigress.

Once Peter was sure that Bella couldn't see with the blindfold on, he took her by the shoulders and spun her around a few times. He ended up facing her backwards from where she originally started. He ran around her twice before he came to settle a few yards back from her.

I could only imagine the sensory deprivation she must be feeling like right now. Vampires relied on their senses for everything and if we are deprived of them, our other senses go in overdrive to make up for the loss.

I remember Carlisle telling me about Alec of the Volturi. Apparently he had the ability to cut off the senses of all creatures. His victims became completely immobile with everything but the mind. I have heard that complete sensory deprivation is very tormenting for a vampire.

My eyes followed Peter as he moved to the left, completely silent. Bella turned around, but I could tell by the frown on her face that this exercise wasn't going as well as she wanted it to.

Bella turned right and left, trying to find Peter's location, but she seemed really confused. Peter ran to stand beside her and touched her shoulder, before running to stand on her other side. Bella turned toward the shoulder that he touched and threw her arm out as if to hit him, but of course Peter was long gone from there.

Peter, then, came up and touched her back before flitting ten feet away from her. Bella turned and once again tried to get a hold of Peter but failed. I could sense her frustration so I decided to intervene a little. I didn't want to overstep Peter's position as 'trainer' but I hated to see Bella so flustered.

"Focus, Bella, you can do this. Concentrate, Love," I told her supportively. Peter looked to me and nodded in approval.

Peter moved to touch her left shoulder, but before he even came in contact with her, Bella twirled around and hit him square in the chest. The impact sent Peter flying into a tree, which cracked under his body. Before he could even move to get up, Bella ran over and pinned him to the ground baring her teeth at him since she couldn't see where his throat was.

To say that I was impressed would be an understatement. Bella just took down a very skilled fighter while blinded. That is beyond amazing. Bella is an anomaly that I just can't seem to understand. She has instincts far more developed than normal vampires and she fights as if she's had centuries of practice. I know for a fact that she could beat Jasper without even breaking a sweat, so to speak.

Peter jumped up came to stand beside Bella. His thoughts showed how proud he was of her abilities and I had to agree wholeheartedly.

"May I take off the blindfold now?" Bella asked.

"Not just yet. I want to try something else." Peter said with a mischievous grin. Bella huffed, but remained where she was and awaited Peter's instructions. He flitted into the house and came out with Jasper's iPod.

He was instantly in front of her. "You just proved that you could rely on your sense of hearing to find your target, but now I wonder if you can find your target without that sense."

"What do you mean by that last part?" Bella asked anxiously.

"I'm going to have you listen to some loud music to drown out most of the sound that you would normally hear," Peter explained.

"Okay…" Bella reluctantly said. I could tell she was nervous about this experiment.

Peter walked up to her slowly, so he wouldn't startle her, and put the headphones in her ears and asked if she was ready. When she nodded her head, he turned on the music. I immediately recognized it as Linkin Park's 'Papercut'. I am more for the classical musical selections but I do like some of the newer music and this particular song is somewhat relatable to me as it reminds me of not only my gift but also normal vampiric tendencies.

So now, Bella was without sight and sound to guide her. I didn't know how she would pass this test, but I had placed my faith in her a long time ago and it's still there. I knew Bella could do amazing things, but if she succeeded without those senses, she would be the most extraordinary vampire I have ever heard of.

Peter flitted behind her and touched her back before flitting back to where he started. Bella tried to reach out to him but missed him by enough time that, if this was a real fight, she'd be dead. They did this for a full ten minutes before Bella took a deep breath and released it slowly. I knew that she wouldn't be able to determine Peter's position by scent because his scent was surrounding her. This release of hers was more just a calming method.

Peter moved left and Bella crouched down in a defensive stance. She cocked her head to the side as if she was listening to something, but of course we all knew she couldn't possibly hear through the music.

Peter sprinted across in a diagonal line to make it to her left side. Just as his fist was about to collide with Bella's chest, she grabbed his arm and flung him over her head. He landed with a thud and before he had time to get up, Bella was crouched beside him and had his head in her hands. Had this not been a mock-fight, she would have taken off his head with one move.

The rest of the family had made their way out to the backyard to watch what was going on. Alice had a vision of this, apparently, so she had everyone gather around to see what Bella was capable of. Alice did this for one purpose: to instill hope in them for the upcoming battle.

Every one of their minds registered shock from watching the spar. None of us have ever heard of a vampire being able to fight like Bella can. We rely on our senses too much to be able to fight without the main ones: sight and hearing.

Peter took out Bella's headphones and took off her blindfold. She had to blink a few times against the sensory overload of sight that she got when the light came back. She looked around to the family and looked like she would be blushing if she could. It was a quiet standoff to see who would break the silence. So, of course, Emmett took it upon himself.

"That was _awesome_ Hells Bells!" Emmett boomed out. Bella just shook her head and averted her eyes in a shy manner, but couldn't fight the smile that broke free.

"I think that will be all for now. You did great Bella." Peter pulled her into a hug. He whispered, "I'm proud of you, Bells".

I ran up and wrapped her into a hug the moment that Peter released her. I twirled her around in the air and my heart melted when I heard her giggling.

"Edward," she giggled, "put me down."

"No, I believe that I quite like you in my arms like this," I told her as I leaned down for a chaste kiss.

Bella smiled up at me and I could tell that she would be all right once this was all over. I had been so worried about how Bella was handling all of this. I even went to see Carlisle about it.

_I knocked on Carlisle's door out of courtesy-he knew that I was already at his door. He beckoned me in and offered me a seat in front of his desk. Out of everyone, Carlisle and I have the most human tendencies. We have lived this way of life for more years than everyone, besides Jasper. But he lived as a true vampire until he found Alice, so he hadn't needed to relearn all of the human habits that Carlisle and I have adopted. _

_I sat down in the chair and he waited patiently for me to gather my thoughts. A few minutes later, I began. "I am worried about Bella." _

"_What, specifically, makes you worry about Bella?" He asked with tension in his voice. It appeared as though he had been worrying as well, but had been hiding his thoughts from me. _

"_She's handling everything too well. I mean, she had a small breakdown after her memories came back," I began, but stopped because I didn't want to tell something I shouldn't. I don't know if I should tell Carlisle about what that monster did to her or not. _

"_Her memories of what exactly?" He asked with a composed expression-even if his thoughts were anything but._

_I decided to just tell him; maybe there was something that he could do. "Her step-father tortured her. Apparently both Bella _and_ Ruby were captured. In an attempt to preserve Ruby's life, Bella kept the spotlight on her, so to speak. I don't know the details of that, unfortunately. I don't know if she had perhaps intentionally provoked him or not to cause the damage, in order to keep the focus on her. _

"_Knowing what I do from his mind, I doubt anything Bella did would have stopped or spurred him on. He was set on torturing her for his own sadistic pleasure. He truly believed her to be his play toy to do with as he wished." I growled and I heard Carlisle growl as well. It was odd to see him this upset because he is usually so composed in all situations. But then again, this is Bella; I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. Carlisle has always taken his family seriously, and always put us all first and foremost. With Bella being the newest addition, as well as her attachment to us all, Carlisle has become quite protective of her._

"_So you think that Bella is trying to repress her emotions of what happened?" Carlisle asked me as his calm exterior began to dissipate. _

"_I do, yes. However, I don't think that is all that is going on with her. Have you noticed anything…_different_ about her since her change?" _

"_Well, yes, I have Edward. I had originally thought that perhaps it was the venom that was introduced before her change that has caused everything to be more potent with Bella. I am referring to her strength, speed, instincts, control, and her fighting techniques. However, after I studied her habits, I have come to the conclusion that something is different. _

_"In all of my years, I have never come across anything like what Bella is experiencing. It is odd to say the least. The Denalis should be arriving later this evening and perhaps Eleazar can shed some light on what is going on with Bella._

"_I know you are worried about her, Edward, but you of all people should know how strong Bella's will is. She has had so much happen to her in this short time she has been alive, but she will overcome this, just like everything else she has. She can only repress her emotions for so long, Edward, so you need to be there for her when she does let them out. I believe that she is meant for great things, and she will need you beside her, son. Have faith in her."_

Carlisle was certainly able to shed some light on my worries. He's right. I do need to just be there for her without pressuring her. She'll come to me when she is ready. I just have to patiently wait for her to do so.

I don't know how I ever survived when she was taken from me. Just remembering that time made anger fill my body.

I hadn't noticed Bella's presence until her hands captured my face between. I most certainly didn't want Bella to be burdened with the knowledge of how out of the norm my feelings were running lately.

"What's wrong, Edward?" She asked softly. It took a few moments before I could open my eyes, but when I did I was rewarded with the beauty of my beloved. Bella was always the most beautiful woman, inside and out, that I have come across in my many years of wandering this earth. However, now with the enhancement of her vampirism, she has become even more stunning than before. I honestly believe that she rivals Rosalie's beauty. Even Rosalie thought so.

My reverie was broken and I was brought back to reality. I tried to smile reassuringly. "I am thinking about a very beautiful woman," I told her with a straight face.

"And who would that woman be exactly?" She asked, smirking.

Instead of answering her with words, I pushed my lips against hers and was instantly rewarded with her taste. It rivaled everything, even blood. Her taste was very different than her scent; where she smelled like freesias and strawberries, her taste was that of vanilla and brown sugar. I am not certain how I remember what those things tasted like, but my mind automatically supplied the name to the taste.

After a while-I am not sure how long-Bella pulled away from me with a smile. It reached her eyes and I was instantly rewarded with hope. The worry that plagued me before now didn't. It was as if it had just disappeared.

Bella noticed my distraction as I remembered how worried I have been of her and she asked me what was wrong.

"Nothing, Love, I'm fine now," I assured her. I knew that she could sense my hesitance, and the half explanation, but thankfully didn't comment on it.

"Okay. You should probably go hunt," she said with an encouraging smile.

I was torn between my need for myself and my need for Bella. Generally the need for Bella overruled everything else lately, but I knew that I had to sate my thirst so I could be useful when need be.

"Okay, Love. I won't be gone long. Peter will be here, as will everyone else." I tried to tell her that she was safe without doing so in a way that would make her feel weak. She was anything but.

She rolled her eyes but gave me a smile. "Don't worry, Edward, I'll be fine. I'm not quite as breakable anymore," she joked. I chuckled along with her. "Just enjoy your hunt. I love you."

I kissed her one more time and leaned my forehead against hers. "I love you more than you could imagine, Bella. You are what keeps me grounded to this earth now, instead of gravity. I swear, sometimes, when I look at you, it feels as though my heart begins to beat again. You have given me life, Bella. You have made my existence meaningful."

"Very romantic, but a tad cheesy" she teased me, pushing me towards the woods. "Go, hunt, enjoy."

I went hunting. Bella said she wasn't thirsty but would hunt soon. That is another thing that I don't understand. She _should_ be thirsty. She is a newborn. All newborns care about is extinguishing their unquenchable thirst. The newborn year is when they are at their most vicious, insane with thirst. She is acting like she has had centuries of control when we all know that she hasn't.

_Oh, my sweet Bella, why are you so unique?_ The answer to that question was obvious: She is my Bella. My Bella has always beaten the odds and has never fit the norms. She has always been unique. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised that she is different but there is something nagging at me telling me that there is something quite different with Bella that we just aren't able to see yet.

I dulled the fire in my throat with two deer and a mountain lion. Then I headed back home; I hated to be away from Bella for any long period of time. For so many years I had been alone, so I never truly understood the connection between mates. Yes, I could hear their thoughts about each other, some which I really wish I could forget, but I never understood how deep their connections were until Bella came into my life. Now, I cannot tease Em when he is whining over missing Rose.

As I neared the house, I ran to the side of the house where my room was located and easily scaled the wall to my window, which was already open. Bella wasn't in the room and it made me wonder where she was. I decided that after I cleaned myself up, I would go and find her.

I took a shower and grabbed some clean clothes to put on before I followed Peter's thoughts to the front yard. I sat on the porch steps beside him and followed his gaze, and was rewarded with the sight of my beloved.

Bella was a ways away from where Peter and I were sitting, but I had a clear view of her. She was listening to my iPod this time and I could hear the work of Chopin's 'Nocturne', redone with a violin. This was one of Bella's favorite pieces-besides Debussy's 'Clair de Lune'.

What caught my attention though was not the music, but what Bella was doing with the music. Bella was dancing. With her previous physical condition, I am sure Bella never had a chance to do these kinds of movements since she was a child. Even though this must be her first time dancing like this, she looked completely natural. The way she twist and turned with the ballet moves made her look like she was a professional. She looked more graceful than even Alice.

"She's been at this since you left." Peter turned to look at me.

"Thank you for watching after her," I told him as sincerely as I could.

"You have nothing to thank me for, Edward. It is my _duty _to protect Bella." He emphasized, as if he was trying to tell me something without actually saying it.

Damn, Peter, could you make this any more confusing? He has been dropping 'hints' in nearly every conversation that we have. They make no sense to me but I assume that he is intentionally doing it. I just wish that I could pick the answer from his brain and be done with this, but life is not so simple. His thoughts never focused on what is going on with Bella, but I just knew that he was knowledgeable in that area.

I refocused on Bella as the song changed to something a little more upbeat. Bella began to introduce quicker moves and more of a hip-hop style to the dancing. I was entranced as I watched her dace. The way she moved was so beautiful. Like a piece of art.

Peter and I sat for hours watching Bella before I heard footsteps. Bella whipped her head around as if she could sense them as well. She cocked her head to the side and took a deep breath. After a moment, she opened her eyes and smiled. She turned off the iPod and stuck it in her jacket. She walked, at a normal speed, over to where we were sitting.

"The Denalis are here," she said with a smile. I could tell how much she liked them. Well, minus Tanya, that is.

"Yes, and they are all very curious to see how you have taken to immortality," I said as I extended my hand to her, which she took with a true smile. I haven't seen that smile since she heard about Ruby and Jasper.

We walked into the house and sat in the living room. It wasn't long before the Denalis joined us. We all sat around in an uncomfortable silence before the rest of our family joined us. That seemed to snap us all out of our silence.

"Eleazar, Carmen, Kate, and Irina, it is so nice to see you. Unfortunately, our last gathering did not go quite as planned, so I hope this time will be different." Carlisle started off the conversation. I have always admired his calm demeanor with uncomfortable situations.

"As with all of you. Yes, it was an unfortunate and horrible twist to our family gathering. I had never thought that Tanya was capable of anything like that. I wish to tell you that even though Tanya was technically our Coven leader, she has been banned from our family. It was a unanimous decision, so she was unable to fight it," Eleazar explained. The others nodded their heads in affirmation.

"Well, that was for the best. I cannot begin to imagine how hard that must have been on your family, but I thank you for your aid when it came to protecting Bella," Carlisle offered with a genuine smile.

"Now that the proper pleasantries are out of the way, perhaps we should get down to the matter at hand." Everyone chuckled, glad to go from a tense situation to a comfortable family reunion.

* * *

**BPOV**

My entire family turned to me as if I were to explain about the rescue mission. I sighed and stood up. I guess I must admit to myself that I am indeed leading this mission.

"First off, thank you all for coming. I truly appreciate everything that you have done for me and for my family, and I also thank you for coming out to help us save Jasper. With that said, I guess I should tell you the basics. We will be leaving in two days time to head south. Emmett was able to hack into Maria's surveillance system. Apparently, she keeps surveillance over most of the southern regions to keep track of her enemies. It will be difficult to gain entry into her compound.

"She will be moving her troops to a new location in three days. It will take us nearly two days to reach her compound. This will put us at her new location just after she has moved her troops in. This will give us an advantage because her troops will be uneasy with a new location. The majority of her soldiers are newborns, which will also give us strength, since you all are older and have more stability than they do."

Kate raised her hand and I nodded at her. Kate stood and looked at me. "How do you know all of this for sure?"

I smiled at her and winked. "I have some insider information." I looked at Peter and then back at Kate. "He knows things. It's his _gift_," I giggled since I knew how much Peter hates his gift being called a _gift_.

Peter huffed and mumbled, _'It's not a damn gift, woman!"_ We all heard him and just laughed, before sobering up and returning to the current discussion.

Kate sat down and I began speaking again. "There are nine of us and four of you which makes thirteen. The Pack has decided to aid us as well. Sam will be sending five with us since they still do have a duty to protect their own people. Peter has contacted some of his acquaintances that should be showing up early in the morning. There will be five of them coming. All together that makes twenty-three.

"We are unsure of Maria's numbers, but we have strength, unity, and gifts on our side. She may have newborns, but we have family. I _know_ that we are all worried; I _know_ that we are all scared of the outcome; I _know_ that we all fear for each other's lives. But I also _know_ that we have one hell of a fighting chance. From just our family, Kate and I will be our biggest defense. Alice and Edward will be our offense. The pack will be our surprise attack. I am unaware of the others who will be joining us. Until we meet them, I am unsure if they will have any gifts that we could use."

"What do you mean; the pack will be our surprise attack?" Irina asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"I am certain that the newborns have never heard of the wolves. Once they see them, it will confuse them and also frighten them. Apparently, the wolves' scents are very strong. Since the newborns will not have been exposed to the wolves, the scents will start the newborns' fight or flight instinct. It will disorient them and make them sloppy. We will be able to use that to our advantage." Irina seemed content with that answer and sat back fully into her seat.

"What if our numbers are not enough?" Carmen asked in her lovely Spanish accent.

Peter chuckled and everyone turned to stare at him. "None of you have seen Bells fight yet. I think a demonstration is in order. C'mon Bells, let's show them what you got," Peter said, and he led us all out to the backyard. Peter had the iPod and blindfold from earlier and led me to the middle of the yard.

Peter put the earphones in my ears and turned it on. The song 'I'm Going Under' came on loudly. There was no other sound besides the headphones. He put the blindfold around my eyes and spun m around three times before his touch left me.

I concentrated on my senses and instincts. I took a deep breath and I could tell that Peter wasn't near me. I took another deep breath that helped me to center myself. From my left, I felt the air shift in a circular position. I could tell that Peter was running on my left side. I didn't want to strike prematurely so I turned to my right side to cut him off. He saw my movement and moved. I couldn't feel him near me so I slowly turned in a circle.

I wanted him to think that I couldn't sense him and instill a false sense of security. Luckily, he took the bait and came up behind me. Before he could touch me, I jumped up and twirled around with a kick that made contact, but with the blindfold on, I couldn't quite tell where I hit him. I heard him land with a loud thud that was accompanied by his grunt. I was worried that I had hurt him so I took off the blindfold and iPod while looking for Peter. He was still on the ground so I ran to him and kneeled beside him.

"Peter, are you okay?" I asked, slightly panicked. I was afraid that I hurt him, even though I know it's hard to harm a vampire.

It took a few minutes, but Peter started laughing. "Yeah, I'm fine, Bells. I just wasn't expecting you to kick so well. I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. With your training, you have definitely proved yourself."

I held out a hand to help him up even though I knew that he could have done that easily himself. It was more of a gesture and human habit that I held onto into this life. He came to stand beside me and turned me around to face a group consisting of awed vampires. Why couldn't my gift be to become invisible? It would really come in handy right now. Apparently, I still do not enjoy the spotlight. I sighed.

"That, Miss Carmen, is what will save us numbers. Bella has only been training for three days and just learned that today. Bella has fighting skills that far surpass all of us here. I am not sure of your training but if you would want to, we could do a test to see how far she can take her training. We have done mock-fights where it was eight against one and Bella had always come out the victor. How about we try twelve against one?" Peter suggested.

"Isn't that advantage a little extreme?" Kate asked, worrisome.

"It's alright. I would like to try this if you all would be willing." I offered a small smile.

"That's fine," Eleazar agreed. He and Carlisle were so alike. I am assuming that I am intriguing to him as well. Great, I couldn't just be a normal, average, vampire. No, someone up there has a sick sense of humor and made me permanently into spotlight material.

"Who has fight training?" I asked so that I could see who would need extra training and who would just need to practice their skills. Everyone raised their hand and I mentally cheered because this was in our favor if everyone had fighting skills.

"We may not be a talented Coven, but Eleazar insisted, when he joined our Coven, that we needed to learn how to defend ourselves if a time ever came for such an act." Irina explained.

"Okay great. First, I want to start off without the sense deprivation and after we will then try that as well." Peter said.

I worried that I would lose if I had to rely purely on my instincts, but if it meant that we had a better chance of getting Jasper back, and then I would do it.

"Please treat this as a real fight-minus the actually tearing, shredding, and decapitation. Bella is far too pretty to have her head taken off," Peter joked. I punched him in the arm and he winced. I just smirked. He so deserved that.

Everyone lined up and we began. I was able to easily evade their attempts but while I was focusing on that, I hadn't noticed that Peter and Emmett were behind me until they each got a hold of one of my arms. Em had my left and Peter had my right. I tried to tug from their grip but to no avail.

I took a deep breath to center myself and hauled upwards with all of my might. Peter and Em flew over my head and into Carlisle and Eleazar, effectively knocking them down. I fell to the ground from the momentum, but I easily jumped up and headed after the two who had me before. I took them both out and looked around at who was still fighting.

Irina, Eleazar, Carlisle, Char, and Edward were still up at bat. Irina came after me and I did a side flip over her and pushed her to the ground. My teeth were at her neck instantly and I sprung up in a back flip just as Char was coming up behind me with an attack. Before my feet hit the ground, Char grabbed a hold of my pony tail and yanked. I fell on my back and she had me straddled before I could even blink. She pinned my legs with hers and Edward grabbed my hands.

Char came in for the kill but I managed to yank my hands from Edward's grasp and brought them together and down on top of Char's head. The force of my movement caused her to teeth, which were bared for the kill, to come down on my arm. Her teeth pierced my hard skin and her venom stung.

Edward came to me but I jumped up, despite the sting of the venom, and landed on his back with my teeth bared at his neck the next second. "Never feel something for your enemy. They will use that against you and _you_ will lose," I whispered into his ear before getting off of his back.

Eleazar and Carlisle were a little more challenging to get out but I did it without any further injury. I jumped from Carlisle's back and stood beside Edward. I grabbed his hand and he gave me a smile in return.

"That was amazing, _Querida_," Eleazar complimented. "I have never seen anything like, that in all of my years. You took down all of us without losing. Not even the Volturi have such strength. Felix, the most talented fighter, has ever only been able to win with a four to one disadvantage. Not even he could take a fight with a twelve to one disadvantage."

I got a weird feeling when he mentioned the Volturi. Before the change, I had dreamt of them, but not even that was as strong as this feeling. It felt almost as a warning signal, but I had more important things to deal with at this time, and decided to go back later and think more about it.

"Peter, may we skip the deprivation exercise? I need to hunt, if you don't mind," I said as I turned to him.

"Yeah, I think we can do that. You do need to hunt, and some time to yourself," he said. He looked at me as if he knew that all of the aura colors were really affecting me.

Edward asked if I wanted a hunting partner, but I told him that I just needed some time alone; once I got back I would spend some time with just him.

I sated my thirst with two deer and a bobcat before sitting by the stream to think. Everything was just happening so fast. Not to mention that my _gift_ is starting to border painful. Whenever I am around someone, I notice that their auras begin to change. I have tried to pay attention and I noticed that everyone's auras have begun to lighten. I have no idea why that is.

Another thing that I have not allowed myself to think about is the one thing that has the ability to bring doubt and fear to me. _What if I fail and I kill us all in the process?_ That question alone has the ability to make me wonder if what I am doing is the right thing.

For me, yes, it is the right thing. Jasper saved me and gave me strength when I needed it. For my family though, that's something else entirely. I know that without their help I would never free Jasper-but is that really enough to compromise all of their lives? I really wish I had the answer to that question.

I will do my ultimate best to get Jasper back and if I fail, then I will die knowing that I did everything I could. _But what if my best is not good enough,_ the little voice in my head asked me. If my best is not good enough then I will somehow push it until my family is safe. That is all I really care about: the safety of my family.

I sat at the stream for a while longer before deciding to head home. The nomads should be here in a while and I should be there to greet them. Everything was eerily quiet as I neared the house. Usually you could hear the sounds of the family going about with their various activities.

I walked into the empty house cautiously and up to my room to take a shower in order to look more presentable. As I rounded the corner from the stairs, I was stopped in my tracks: before me stood the owner of my heart and soul. Edward was wearing a hunter green tee that accented his bronze-colored hair. The color also clashed nicely with his alabaster skin. Quite simply, he was Adonis in the marble-hard flesh.

He held out his arms for me, but I remembered my state of dress and felt embarrassed that I looked so bad in comparison to his neatly worn clothes and perfectly messed hair.

"What are you embarrassed for, Love?" He asked as he eyed me gently.

"Well," I began, "I was just thinking that I am a mess and you are not."

Edward chuckled. "You still look beautiful, Bella. Even with blood and mud on you, you look stunning." I could feel his sincerity.

I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Edward." I told him. "If you wouldn't mind, I will go clean up some."

"That's fine, Love. I will be downstairs, if you would care to join me. I have something for you."

"Will do," I smiled at him. The only times that I have actually felt like me is when I am around Edward. Everything about me is changing and I am afraid that I am going to lose myself with it.

I left him and went to take a quick shower and change into some clothes. I pulled on a simple white tank top that had a large rose that took up the bottom right side of the shirt. Over that, I put a pink hoodie that zipped up the front. I left my hair down but dried it with a towel. I pulled on some stretch jeans that had an intricate design down the left leg. Lastly, I pulled on some Nikes.

I headed out of the room and down to the living room to see what Edward had in store. When I entered the room it was lit with over fifty candles of two scents: strawberries and freesias. I smiled at him as he slowly walked over to me. He opened his arms and I went to them quickly. To be in his arms again was purely heaven. I fit perfectly inside of his arms and it made me almost forget the event that was drawing closer with each moment.

"My sweet Bella," he sighed as he held me tighter.

After a few moments we pulled apart. We stared into each other's eyes and got reacquainted with one another. Our focus had been on training instead of one another; we hadn't really gotten much alone time when we trained. For that, I felt guilty. It felt as though I was ignoring Edward in a way.

"Where is everyone else?" I asked as I broke the spell of silence surrounding us like our own protective bubble.

He smiled that crooked smile that always melts me into goo. "I may have convinced them that everyone needed some alone time with their mates."

"That was very selfless of you." I smiled mischievously.

"Well, if I am being entirely honest, I was not at all selfless in this," he smirked.

"Oh, and what did you have in mind for festivities?"

His lips found mine and I was once again in Heaven. I couldn't imagine anything feeling as right or as good as Edward made me feel. After what seemed like an eternity, I rested my head against his chest, fully satiated and purring.

Edward was stroking up and down my arm. His touch brought me the comfort and peace that I had been missing for so long.

"Bella, I have something for you," he said as he stood up. At once, I felt a sense of dread, since I already felt inferior to the rest of the Cullens. I love them and they love me but I had always been another human to them. Now, I am just another vampire. What could I possibly give him back for everything he has given me?

"I feel that, Bella," he chided with a small scowl. "No negative feelings, please."

Edward appeared before me a few moments later. He came back to the same position we were in but he and I were sitting up. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a quick kiss before holding out, between his pointer finger and thumb, a ring. It was stunning.

"It's beautiful, Edward" I said as I gazed at the ring. Of course, it didn't compare to my engagement ring because that would forever be the thing that began to tie us together for eternity.

"It's a Claddagh ring. The hands of the ring are shown holding the heart and the hands denote friendship and togetherness. The heart itself signifies love, and the crown in the Claddagh ring stands for loyalty." He smiled at me and gently grabbed my left hand. He put the ring on my pointer finger and smiled. "If the person who is receiving the ring is engaged, it is meant to be worn on the left hand with the crown facing away from the person. This means that they already have found their love."

By the time he finished, I had unshed tears in my eyes. Had I been human, I am sure I would be drenched.

"Bella, I know that I have already promised an eternity of love to you but I want to promise you something else right now. I promise to not only love and cherish you but to bring you happiness and joy whenever possible. It goes against my nature, but I also promise to let you learn this life in your own way. I may not particularly care for the idea of you fighting, but I will follow you when we leave and I will be by your side when we get Jasper back. Bella, I promise to not only be your lover but your companion and your friend. You are everything to me, Bella. You are my life."

I heard and felt the sincerity of his words and I was sobbing tearlessly before he even finished speaking. I have no idea why fate would choose him to be with someone like me, but I definitely won't complain. Edward is all someone could ask for. He's caring, sweet, handsome, and loving. When he loves and cares for someone, he does it with his whole heart.

"Edward, I have no words to explain to you how much you have given me. You have changed me and helped to heal me. Without you, I am sure I would not be here right now. You have given me a second chance at life. You have shown me what true love is, and how pure it can be. I love you more than words can express. There may not be a way to give to you what you have given me, but I want you to know that I will always try to be what you need me to be, what you want me to be. I may stumble and fall but I know that you will always be there to pick me up." I looked into his eyes to convey the truth of my words. "You are my life, my love, and soon you will be my husband. I love you."

As I finished, Edward even had tears he couldn't cry in his eyes. We just stared at each other for a while. He smiled and pulled me into a hug. He rested his face on top of my head and I nuzzled into the crook of his neck.

We sat there and enjoyed the feeling of being so close to one another. We both knew that what we were going into was serious and dangerous, but we also knew that it was necessary. I really would rather Edward not fight, but I know that he would refuse to sit out while I took over. He wanted to be right there beside me and I decided that I would want him nowhere else.

We held onto each other as if it we never had to let go. In a perfect world, I would be right here in Edward's arms in front of a roaring fire. However, unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. We had a responsibility to uphold and we knew that there was a chance that we may fail. I held onto Edward tighter, and if I was hurting him, he didn't say anything.

"Edward," I whispered, as if I were afraid of my own words—which, in reality, I really was. "I am afraid."

Edward continued to move his fingers up and down my arm. "What are you afraid of, Love?" He asked.

"I am afraid of failing. I know how dangerous our mission is going to be and I can't help but feel guilty for throwing you all in the middle of it. I know, logically, that I cannot save Jasper on my own and that I do need your help. However, my conscience is berating me for endangering everyone's lives. " I spilled my heart to Edward.

He sighed. "Bella, you are not to blame for our involvement. I don't want you to feel guilty because even if you were not here with us, we would still go and get him back. He's part of our family, and we protect our family." He rested his head on mine and inhaled my scent as if to memorize it.

"I also understand your fear. I have it myself, if I am being honest. I have been worrying about what will happen if our family fails, but then I realized that those thoughts create doubt and doubt equals room for failure. We all have to go in to this while thinking about what Jasper means to us. Now, _those_ thoughts will help to motivate all of us.

"You shouldn't be worrying about this because, despite our numbers and gifts, we have _you_. You alone have not lost a single spar. You are an incredible fighter and I know that if we have you, that we will succeed. Do not worry about the 'what ifs' because they will not help us get him back, Bella." His words sparked a renewed determination that I desperately needed.

We stayed wrapped in one another's arms for quite some time. Both of us were lost in our own thoughts. I am sure that our thoughts reflected each other's. Here, in the sanctuary of Edward's arms, I could almost believe that our family was whole and happy…almost.

"What are you thinking about, Love?" Edward asked quietly.

I sighed. "Edward, I need to talk to you and get your insight on something." He began running his fingers through my hair and it felt so good. I think I may have begun purring, but I couldn't be certain of that.

"You know that you can always talk to me, Bella, about anything," he told me gently, kissing the top of my head before resuming his ministrations.

"I think I may have a gift," I told him and waited for the anger to come from him for not telling him sooner. However, I shouldn't have been surprised when he wrapped his arms around me and tilted my chin up to look at him.

"I was wondering when you would let me in on the secret," he teased. "What do you think that your gift is? What are you experiencing? How does it work?" He asked a slew of questions that had me laughing. He looked at me curiously and I just clamped my hand over his mouth to shush him.

"It is good that I am not your meal because you would have scared me off with your excitement alone," I laughed again. I crinkled my nose in concentration as I pondered the answers to his questions. "I am not sure what it would be called, specifically, but it mainly consists of me being able to see colors that surround people."

"Is that why you have been so distracted?" He asked knowingly.

"Yeah, that is part of it," I admitted reluctantly. Thinking about this topic was very difficult for me.

"And the rest would be?" He prompted.

I closed my eyes and relaxed as much as possible against Edward. I knew that he would not reject me, but the things that I were about to admit were foreign to me. I didn't know how he would actually respond to them.

"The speed and the power are somewhat frightening. I don't know why any of this is going on but I have been subconsciously commanding myself to not think about it. I don't know why I am different but I do not like it. I have been different for the majority of my life and I was hoping to leave that behind once I became like you." I sighed and realized that perhaps I just wasn't meant to fit in. Perhaps I was meant to be on the outskirts of immortality where I am always and forever the odd one out.

"Bella, those things are excellent qualities to have. It just means that you will be able to protect yourself better, Love. You have a better chance at protecting this family from threat than all of us combined. Never doubt that it's an amazing thing to be capable of. As for your gift, I believe that you are half correct."

"Are you referring to the shield that Eleazar said that I have had since they found me after the accident?" He nodded. "Perhaps he was wrong." I suggested.

"Eleazar has never been wrong," he pointed out.

"Perhaps there is a glitch in my brain. That would sure explain a lot," I grumbled.

"Or, perhaps, you have both. You could be a shield and also see auras." He suggested. "Though, I am not sure what they would have in common. I suppose that if it were indeed possible that you could have more than one gift, I would assume that the 'two' gifts would have to be part of each other."

Upon noticing my confusion, he elaborated. "Take a shield for example. I _have_ heard of someone having a mental as well as physical shield. It wouldn't necessarily be two different gifts but each would be an extension of the other." His thoughts silenced him for a few minutes. "So, how does the seeing auras work? Do you see them all of the time or can you choose when to see them?" He asked, curiosity coloring his voice.

"Could someone have two gifts at the same time?" I asked. "As for the auras, no, I cannot choose when I see them. I just see colors, even if I cannot put their meanings into words; I just feel what they represent." I tried to explain.

"Interesting," he said, then was silent for a few more moments. I could tell that he was deep in thought by the crease in his brows. "I have never heard of someone having more than one gift, but that does not necessarily mean something. I have only met so many vampires over the years, so I could not say with certainty either way. They tend to stay out of territories that are frequented by larger clans. Our family is the largest, outside of the Volturi, so others of our kind tend to steer clear of us. We can ask Carlisle if he has ever come across someone having two gifts," he offered.

"No, that's alright. I'd rather not distract anyone else with this unless necessary-or if someone else besides us brings it up. I doubt anyone would bring it up, though. Only three people know what I am going through and two are in this very room." I tried to add a little humor, and apparently succeeded, since Edward began to laugh.

He agreed to wait to tell everyone until after we get Jasper back. I don't have any idea of why I am experiencing everything differently than a normal newborn, but I cannot allow myself to focus on it. My number one priority right now is Jasper. Everything else will just have to take a back burner.

We stayed in the same spot, talking, until the sun rose. We talked in detail about what I see when I see the auras and how I was feeling about everything. I had a mini breakdown when my guilt over the past got the better of me. He held me and told me everything will be all right. He told me that we would figure everything out together-as a family.

* * *

**A/N: Do you like the chapters this length or should I shorten them or change some up with length?**

***** Loved or hated it? Share your thoughts with the world! Well… just me really but I promise to give you a heart 3**

***** Question of the day: What is your favorite season and why? I am a summer gal myself. I was raised in Montana so it's like always freezing there. New York, where I live now, isn't much better than Montana but is rainier. I lived in Louisiana for a couple of years and I would have to admit that, despite the hurricane season, the summers there were awesome. I am pro 90 degree weather with a hoodie on. What about you all? Anyone side with me on this topic or am I completely insane to enjoy such heat?**


	6. Ice Ice Baby

**A/N: Here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it. I know it's a little slow but it has some important parts in it. Thank you all for your suggestions for the Nomad's names. **

***** Thankies to Jasperose for Beta-ing this chapter. You are completely awesome!**

***** This chapter is dedicated to: SuGar-HuNeY.**

***** Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my own ideas. All rights go to the proper owners.**

***** I also wanted to make a quick side-note: It has been brought to my attention that I have never told my readers this before... I do use songs in my stories and those songs aren't always time-related. For example, I may use a song that was just released in 2010 for a Twilight fanfiction. Imagination, poeple, goes a long way. Please forgive me for never mentioning this before :)**

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**BPOV**

Alice predicted that the nomads would arrive in five minutes - and those five minutes seemed to drag on forever.

I was currently pacing in an attempt to keep my emotions in check. I sighed and ran a shaking hand through my silky strands. Edward, before I was changed, told me that newborns are unstable. Sometimes I feel just that-unstable. If it isn't the messed up emotions getting to me, it's the whole "seeing people's aura" thing. I mean, how much can one person take? I constantly feel like, at any moment, I could be swept off into some whirlwind to be forever lost in the Land of Oz

However, it wouldn't be the nice little Oz where there are Lollipop Kings and ruby red slippers that can bring you home. No, the Oz that I would be stuck in would be one of darkness, despair, and uncertainty. I feel more and more like this every day and it scares the living hell out of me. I am afraid of losing myself just so shortly after finding Edward. I couldn't imagine a life, or existence, without him. He has always been there for me; he's my whole life.

Sensing my panic, two arms encircled me from behind. I didn't even have to look to know that it was Edward who was trying to comfort me. The familiar current that ran between us, when I was human, is still ever present now—and even more intense.

"It will be fine, love." Edward tried to assure me. Of course, we both knew his words were simply comfort, not certainity. Not even Alice, who can see the future, can give me assurance in this situation.

"I know," I sighed as I roughly ran my hand through my hair.

All of our heads snapped towards the door as we heard vampires approach. We were only expecting five, but we distinctly heard eight sets of feet as they ran. Peter took Char's hand and I took Edwards. There was a knock at the door and I moved forward to open it. Edward tagged along behind me, refusing to let go of my hand. I could tell that he felt wary of me approaching unknown vampires but he also knew that I was capable of taking care of myself.

I opened the door and smiled warmly at our guests. There were five males and three females.

"Hello, my name is Bella," I said warmly. "Why don't you all come in so we can get to know one another?" They all nodded their heads and followed me in to meet the rest of the family.

"Javier, it's good to see you again," Peter said as he approached the male who was leading the group. Javier had short black hair and a slightly darker complexion than me. I didn't know if everyone was part of individual covens or if this was indeed its own coven, but everyone looked at ease around each other, which made me consider the latter option.

"As you, my friend. You haven't aged a day!" Javier said with a heavy Spanish accent. He pulled Peter into a manly hug and released him.

Peter moved on and approached the long brown haired female standing beside Javier. "Gabriella, my sweet. How are you doing? I hope you are keeping this guy in line." Peter addressed the female while pointing a thumb towards Javier.

Gabriella took Javier's hand with a shy smile towards Peter. "I try my best. I am doing well, thank you. I hope that you and Char are well. It's been such a long time since we have had a chance to sit and talk. Perhaps later we could catch up some." She smiled sincerely. Her accent was not as heavy as Javier's but still recognizable.

Peter nodded and moved to stand in front of the male with what I would call a 'Pete Wentz' haircut. His hair was black and contrasted nicely against the paleness of his skin. "Kade, I see that you are still Emo," Peter smirked at him.

"I see that you are still a jackass," Kade retorted, making everyone crack up.

Peter huffed, "I am not a jackass."

"Yeah, you are, Petey," I laughed. He glared at me and I stuck my tongue out at him. Ah, the joys of sibling rivalry.

"Moving on," Peter encouraged, glaring at me. I just waved my hand in a gesture to tell him to continue. "Grayham and Seraphina, I am very appreciative that you came. It means a lot to me." Peter reached out and shook Grayham's hand and hugged Seraphina. Grayham had short blonde hair that was chin length, whereas Seraphina had long red hair that was done up in an intricate braid. They had such opposite looks-but it worked for them.

Javier moved to stand beside the other three that had yet to be introduced. "I figured that you could use some extra help so I brought along these three. This pretty young lady is Naomi," he gestured to a girl who had long brown hair with blonde highlights in it. Naomi gave us a small smile and I could tell that she was shy. Her aura was very light and very beautiful. It didn't hurt to focus on her and her light never wavered around me.

"The one with black hair beside her is her mate Aiden. And finally we have Alexus. Don't let her short size fool you. She is fast." Javier finished introducing everyone and there was a short silence as everyone appraised each other for strength and weaknesses. Apparently it was instinctual to size up other vampires, even if they were of no threat to you.

I broke the silence and I heard some sigh in gratitude. "How about we all sit down?" I suggested.

Everyone sat down, but since there were so many people, I sat on Edward's lap. The rest of the family followed suit. I felt bad because Alice was alone, so I motioned her over to sit beside us. I can only imagine what Alice has been going through since Jasper has been gone. I know how strongly I feel about it but with her being his mate, I am sure she is even worse off than I am. She is good, though, at not showing her sadness and heartache.

"So, let's get this show on the road." I started since I knew that everyone expected me to lead the discussions. "I want to sincerely thank you all for coming today. Your numbers mean a lot to us. I don't know how much Peter has told you so I will start at the beginning. Have you ever heard of the Southern Vampire Wars?" I asked. Everyone nodded their heads and Javier had a grimace on his face. I would have to ask him later about that reaction.

I continued, "There was a female vampire by the name of Maria who led a very powerful army during the war. Her second-in-command was Major Jasper Whitlock. He helped lead her in battle and because of him and his power, they never lost. He was the most powerful vampire in the south. The only thing was that he hadn't a clue of the outside world. Maria brought him into this life so he thought that her way was the only way to survive.

"After a while, he turned a newborn that was a skilled fighter and really lame with jokes. Peter, the newborn, was able to break through the walls that the Major built up to protect himself with. Slowly, he struck up a friendship with Peter. When Maria ordered the newborns, who had reached their first year mark, to be killed, Peter pled with Jasper to help him and Char escape. Peter fell in love with a newborn and because of that love, Jasper helped them escape the horrid life that Maria forced them into. After some time, Peter and Char went back for the Major and helped him to find a new life as well."

I looked around to make sure I still held everyone's attention. They all looked eagerly at me. I don't know why the eagerness was there but I continued with the story. "Jasper came to the Cullens, but Maria never forgot about him. After Maria lent aid to another vampire to capture me, Maria was able to capture Jasper." I heard growls from my family and some from the nomads as well.

I felt a growl start in my own chest but I tried to squash it before it could come out. I had to speak through clenched teeth in order to hold my growl inside. "She still has Jasper and we are going to save him. He is a vital part of our family and he will be joining this family again soon."

I looked around at all of the new faces and in my heart, I felt sad that they have been dragged into this- but then again, it was the only way. "Now that you know the back-story, I need you to answer something for me. Why are you here? You hold no ties to this family; so why will you risk yourselves for us?" I looked each of the newcomers in the eyes to show them that I wanted the truthful answer.

Javier looked at his group and each gave a slight nod before he turned his attention back to me. "Each one of us is here for the same reason that you all have banded together: family. Peter has helped each of us and he is our family. He asked us—not demanded—but asked us if we would help, and so we are here to do just that. We may not personally know Jasper, but that will not stop us from giving our all. Peter is part of us just as Jasper is part of you. Truly, we are all family now. We protect our own." Nods and approvals met his words. I smiled at him and nodded.

"What's the plan?" Alexus asked.

"We will go get him. We have our family of nine; the Denalis have four; the wolves will be sending four; you all have eight." I began pointing out but Javier raised his hand. I nodded for him to speak.

"There will be one more joining us. He wasn't able to make it all this way because he was in Rio. He will, however, be joining us on our way. We just need to tell him where to meet us. He is a skilled fighter and knows the ins and outs of battle," Javier said.

"Okay, perfect. So far the total is twenty-six fighters. Our side will be strong in numbers and unity. We will be leaving tomorrow morning. The drive will take two days, give or take. If everything goes as planned, we will arrive there on Thursday. You can call your other fighter and tell him to meet us in Dallas. It will be far enough away from where her new camp is, allowing us privacy to get situated. Tell him to do what he can to train on his own and please give him my gratitude for his involvement." I smiled at Javier and he nodded politely.

"Now that we all have chatted, how about we train? I think it's pertinent that we all get to know one another's fighting skills so that we can adjust where needed," Peter said with a mischievous grin. He was up to something—but I didn't know what it was just yet. Peter was one sly bastard but I loved him all the same.

We all moved out to the yard that has officially become the 'training arena,' as Emmett likes to call it. I'm almost positive that he is hoping to get some of us girls wrestling around in some Jell-O whilst in bikinis.

"Okay, let's spar off in pairs. No mates in the same group. After the first spar we will pair off in skill levels. This way we can make sure that we train harder," I announced, trying to break myself away from my reverie about Emmett and Jell-O.

"Pardon my interruption, but wouldn't we train harder if we train against someone who is has a higher skill level than us?" Seraphina asked in a small voice, as if she were afraid of me. What in the world did Peter tell them about me?

"Normally that would be correct. However, under these circumstances, we don't have a lot of time to train. If we were to pair someone who is a good fighter with someone who is a weak fighter then only the weaker fighter would be getting a work out.

"Therefore, the strong fighter would not be fighting as strongly as he can and the weaker one would only be pinned. However, if they were both with their own skill level, then they both would be getting the training that they need. Make sense?" I asked.

"Yes, it does. Thank you." Seraphina sounded slightly embarrassed. I gave her a sincere smile and she returned it as such.

"Okay so let's go. The person on your right will be your partner for this spar. Get into your own space and begin. Please don't use any gifts unless you are unable to control when you use them." I said, smiling. I had a good feeling now, since these eight showed up today. I have not learned of any abilities they may have, besides that Alexus is very fast. Perhaps after we work for a while, we can break and learn about everyone's abilities—if they have any, that is.

Seraphina came over to me while the others began to spare. "Bella, would you be my partner? There aren't any others besides you and Peter," she asked shyly.

I smiled as politely as I could and said, "I actually wish to sit out because I want to evaluate everyone's skill level. How about you and Peter spar? Perhaps next time, you and I could do so."

"Okay, yes, I would enjoy that indeed," Seraphina said. Her and Peter moved a ways away from me and crouched in a defensive position.

They began circling each other so I turned my attention to the rest of the mock-fights. Esme was fighting with Alice and Alice was definitely winning. I wasn't worried about Alice because she has proven herself to be a fierce fighter, and she will be fighting for someone who means everything to her.

As I watched the fake-fights, I was able to determine everyone's skill level. The ones with the most fighting skill, without gifts, were Javier, Kade, Naomi, and Alexus, and of course Peter, Char, and Carlisle.

After everyone sparred, I called them in and explained that they would be paired off according to my assessment of skill level. "Okay so it will be Peter and Naomi, Eleazar and Carlisle, Char and Kade, and Alexus along with Javier and me. I want these groups to go first. Then we will have Esme and Carmen, Em and Kate, Irina and Grayham, Gabriella and Alice, Rose and Aiden, and Edward sparring against Seraphina. If you don't agree with my choices please just speak up and we will find a suitable arrangement." I hadn't actually been expecting anyone to do such but of course Emmett always has to have his say.

"Bellsy-boop, why can't I spar against like you or Peter or Carlisle or someone who is of my level of expertise? No offense Kate," he added hurriedly, worried that she'd use her gift on him again. She just shrugged and barely contained her amusement at his question.

"You really want to spar with me?" I asked with a smirk.

"Hell yeah!" He said, the biggest grin on his face. I feel like it was my duty to wipe that grin right off of his face.

"Okay. Peter, would you mind sparring with Kate?" I knew he knew of her gift, just in case she accidently used it.

"No problem, Sugar." His amusement at what was to come for Emmett was plastered all over his face. He knew that I would set Emmett in his place. It's not that he is a bad fighter, because actually he's a good fighter. The problem is his cocky attitude. That was enough to get him in trouble, so it was my place as a good sister and friend to set him straight.

"Fine, Em, come on. Everyone, please start your spar. Go at least four rounds with one another. No gifts and no dismembering. I'd rather not have to worry about putting anyone back together again. So that means no Humpty Dumpty people."

Everyone got into positions to start a spar and I turned my attention back to my group. "Okay, since there are three of us, Javier, would you mind if I spar with Emmett first?" I asked with a mischievous smile. He caught on and nodded, trying to keep from grinning as well.

Emmett and I got into fighting position. We circled each other twice before he moved in for the obvious attack. I sidestepped him before he could touch me. I could have taken him out already but I wanted to get my point across as strongly as I could. He moved in for another kill but I turned and did a back flip over him.

He looked around for a few seconds before turning around. I smiled and waved right before he charged at me. I used his momentum against him and grabbed onto his arm to flip him to the ground. Once there, I quickly put my teeth to his neck and snarled. "Don't ever underestimate your enemy and _don't _ever overestimate your abilities." I growled once more and jumped up, offering my hand to him, even though he didn't need it.

He rubbed the back of his neck, very embarrassed, and I thought I got my point across well enough. I walked up to him and smiled. "Emmy Bear, there is nothing wrong with having a limit on your abilities, we all do. It's not wrong or embarrassing to admit to yourself that you can't take on an opponent. The reason I even agreed to allow you and I to spar was because I was worried that you might try that when we go to get Jasper back. Em, you have to promise me that you won't try to fight someone who you know could take you down."

I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him. "You are too important to me for you to be taken from me. I have already lost too much. I can't lose you as well. You're my Emmy Bear." I looked up at him and he had venom coating his eyes just as I had with mine. If we could cry, then we would both have tears running down our cheeks.

Of course Peter couldn't keep out of my mushy moment as he made kissing noises towards Em and me. I turned around and glared at him with the coldest look that I could muster—I learned from Rose—and he backed off immediately. Suddenly he found the grass to be very damn exciting.

I turned back around towards Emmett and stood on my tippy toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and thanked me before he headed off to find Kate. He sent Peter back over and I was shocked that he could stay silent as long as he had. Apparently my glare worked. I smirked at him before sparring off with Javier.

Javier was a fierce fighter. He was trained and he was deadly. He had me pinned quite a few times but luckily I always found a way out of the pin. I sparred with him four times, winning all four but only barely. I then had Peter spar against him and I was in awe at his movements and quickly burned those into my memory because there were quite a few that would be effective for everyone to learn. As I watched him move gracefully but stealthily, I could not believe what I saw. Javier effectively pinned and won against Peter. Only I had ever won against him. This was a first and this truly lifted my spirits, knowing that we had such a powerful fighter on our side.

After a half hour, I figured that everyone had enough practice for us to start working on gifts that we can effectively use during battle.

"Okay, we're done sparring for a while!" I raised my voice a little to grab everyone's attention. "If you could all join me over here, I would appreciate it." Once everyone was situated, I brought Eleazar and Peter up to stand in front with me. Peter has become my right hand man so he is always included with me. Eleazar, on the other hand, has been brought to the front because of his gift to discern others' gifts.

I looked around at everyone and a spring of hope bounced through me when I looked at our numbers. The wolves were due to arrive soon, only adding to our group. I brought my thoughts back to the matter at hand, which was getting harder to do, and addressed our family, friends, and allies.

"Does anyone have a gift?" I asked, and nearly started bouncing up and down like Alice when I saw how many hands were raised. From our family, there's: Edward, Alice, and Peter (even if he refuses to refer to it as a 'gift'). From the Denalis there's: Eleazar and Kate. Then finally we have our new additions and from them the gifted ones are: Gabriella, Seraphina, and Grayham. All together, we have nine gifts, including me. Now, we just needed to determine which gifts we could use against our enemies.

"Gabriella, what is your gift?" I asked.

She stood up and briefly looked to the sky before looking at me. "I can manipulate the weather."

This information grabbed my interest. If we could use the weather against Maria's army somehow, that would put us at an advantage. "How exactly does this work? What are your limitations?"

"Well, I can control any part of the weather such as the sun, the clouds, the rain, storms… anything like that. The only two limitations that I have are that I can only control one aspect at a time; I cannot make it rain and manipulate the sun at the same time. Also, if I were manipulating the weather, it is only within a three mile radius of wherever I am standing." She was smiling, letting me know she was proud of her gift. I smiled in return and nodded my head to show my appreciation. Her gift could be very useful, if used correctly.

"Grayham, how about you?" I asked as I moved in front of him.

"I can emit a burning heat through my hands. The longer the exposure to my hands, the more intense the burn," he said, grinning hugely.

"I wonder, is it possible that you could ignite your enemy through your gift?" I asked.

"Yes, I have done that in the past. If I can grab a hold of my enemy long enough, I can ignite them. However, I can only do that with the person that I am in contact with." His smile drooped into a frown as he revealed his limitation.

"Do you have control over when you use it? I assume so since your mate doesn't seem to be in ashes." I winked to loosen the tension surrounding the view of his limitations.

Grayham turned at looked at Seraphina with the most adorable, love-struck, expression I have seen in a long time. "Yes, I can control it now. It took a lot of hard work and effort but I finally grasped control of it."

"This will be a big advantage for us." I smiled appreciatively at him.

I turned my attention to Grayham's mate. It's very fortunate when mates are both gifted. I wonder what her gift is. "You're up Seraphina," I smiled encouragingly.

If she were able to blush, I am sure she would be as red as a tomato. "I can mask scents." I arched an eyebrow, silently asking her to continue. "I can choose when or when not to mask my scent which is a very usual evasion tactic. I can also mask the scents of up to ten people when I concentrate hard enough."

At her revelation, my grin grew like the Grinch's heart: three times its normal size. Fate must be smiling down on us because I couldn't have imagined such luck with so many gifts going into this battle on our side, but I was thankful nonetheless.

We took a break so those who needed to hunt could do so. Not everyone was vegetarian, so we parted ways and found our own delicacies. We didn't have all that much time left and nerves were really starting to kick in. Negative emotions and thoughts ran rampant through my mind.

Distractedly, I took down three deer and buried the carcasses before heading home. There was too much on my mind right now to even begin to enjoy the hunt like I should have. No matter how positive I try to think, it feels as though Jasper's life and my family's lives rest on my shoulders.

I know that I have been neglecting my family since they rescued me, but I can't help the nagging, depressive feelings whenever I look at Alice and know that it is because of me that her husband is being held prisoner—and possibly tortured. I can't stand the pull in my heart when I see the sadness etched on Esme's face because her son is gone. The shine has left Emmett's eyes and that again is my fault. But the worst of it all is looking at Edward. I would gladly give my life to save him from danger, but it seems inevitable that he will have to fight. I could never forgive myself if something happened to him—or any of them.

I have been trying to keep a slight distance from everyone because I can see their pain and sadness and whenever I am around, that pain and sadness slowly seeps into me. I want to talk to Peter about it, but I am afraid of the answer. What if whatever is happening to me is a bad thing? There has to be a reason for my abilities and that alone scares me. What if I am not strong enough to handle all of this? Right now, I have a mission and a rescue on my mind, but what happens when this is all over? Can I go back to the normal, happy, cheery Bella? I honestly didn't know the answer to that.

A twig snapped behind me and I whirled around, immediately crouching defensively. I straightened my posture when I heard the idiot laugh. "Good one, Peter. Startle the newborn that can tear your ass to shreds," I mumbled sarcastically, only making him laugh harder.

He put his hands up in a peaceful manner and controlled his laughter. "Sorry, Bells, I didn't mean to startle you. I figured that you would hear me but I suppose you were in your head. Want to talk about it?" He asked.

I sighed. "As tempting as that offer is, I can't. I'm not ready yet." I gave him an apologetic smile, but he just waved it off and told me that whenever I was ready, he was always here for me. He's truly like a big brother to me and I love him for that.

"So what brings you to the woods, stalking a poor, defenseless, female?" I asked innocently.

He snorted. "Defenseless, my ass."

I shrugged and sat on a fallen log. I patted the spot next to me and waited for him to start. He looked serious and dread started to creep into my gut.

He took a deep breath and turned to look at me. "Bella, you are special. You are unlike anyone, mortal or immortal, that I have seen before. Your abilities are strong and you don't even understand the full extent of them yet. I know that you are worried about some of them, and I want to assure you that you have nothing to be worried about. When the time comes for you to use them, your body will know what to do. Your _heart_ will know what to do. I need you to follow those instincts because if not, then we will lose this battle. However, if you do follow your instincts, then we'll be okay."

I frowned. I hated his riddles, but I knew they were important. How much more could there be to my abilities? Oh, and don't mention that if I don't trust my instincts, we all die. No pressure, Bella. I mentally snorted.

"There is one last thing." I gazed at him and he gave me a sheepish smile. "I didn't want to do this in front of everyone so that is really why I followed you. Here, I want you to have this." He placed a beautiful necklace in my hand. It looked like a type of bird. It was mainly silver but the wings were a greenish-blue color, and it was laced onto a silver chain. I stared at it, virtually entranced by the power I could almost feel coming from it.

"What is it?" I asked in a whisper, afraid to break the spell.

"It's a Phoenix. It is an ancient bird that symbolizes rebirth, immortality, strength, and perseverance. I want you to wear it when we face Maria. It will be important for you to have it around your neck then." There he goes with the cryptic speak again.

"Why?" I asked, stroking the pendant in awe.

"Nah, sorry, kiddo. I can't tell you that. But I can tell you that it's something that you _must_ do." Peter spoke slowly to emphasize each word, as if they held a weight of their own.

I looked at him, confused, but just nodded my head. "Thank you, Peter," I told him with a smile.

"Don't thank me, Bella," he sighed.

"And why not?" I asked angrily. He has done so much for me and I haven't been able to repay him. Gratitude is the least I can give him.

"Because, I am sorry for everything you have had to go through and will go through. Bella, your life has been hell, but it's been important. Everything will make sense soon, I promise, but it won't stop problems from arising. Your destiny is greater than anyone I have met. You are meant for great things, Bells." He punched me in the arm and I hugged him with all the love I felt for this brother of mine.

Peter and I walked back to the house together, just enjoying the calmness of the forest. This was the first time that I took the time to truly admire the beauty of the nature surrounding me.

As we rounded on the house, we heard laughing. Entering the front door, we saw that Emmett was standing in front of everyone singing "Ice Ice Baby". I could almost contain my laughter, but then Em broke out the original dance from Vanilla Ice. He turned to me and winked. The memory was murky, since I remember it from my human life, but it looked as though he danced even better than Vanilla Ice did. By the time Em was finished with the song, everyone was broken down in laughter. He did a dramatic bow and came and gave me a hug. I saw a slight twinkle back in his eyes and I knew that he was going to be okay once this was all over. I just hope I would be here to see that.

"Just in time!" Alexus jumped up and grabbed my hand to lead me over to where Edward was sitting on the love seat. She pushed me down on his lap and giggled at my shocked expression.

"What exactly am I in time for?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Karaoke!" Everyone exclaimed at the same time. I couldn't help but laugh at everyone's enthusiasm. Personally, I would rather train more, since we would be leaving in the morning, but I also knew that they needed this. Everyone needed to relax a little and let go of some of the stress that has been surrounding us all.

"Ah," I said with a smile, "please, continue." Seraphina was up next, followed by Javier, and finally Alice told me it was my turn. I groaned and shook my head. I was enjoying everyone else singing, but didn't really feel like doing it myself.

"Go on, love," Edward urged me with a little push. I huffed and stood up, shooting a glare at him. In return, he just gave me a crooked smirk; I couldn't help the smile the spread across my face.

"Pick anything you want," Alice winked. I turned to the screen and immediately chose my song. It's one of my all-time favorite songs, so I was glad to get a chance to sing it. Of course, I had to change a few words to make it fit me rather than a male lead, but it didn't matter. As "Welcome to the Black Parade" came on, Kade smirked at me. I assume we share musical interests.

_When I was a young girl  
My father took me into the city  
To see a marching band  
He said, "Girl, when you grow up  
Would you be the savior of the broken  
The beaten and the damned?_

_He said, "Will you defeat them  
Your demons and all the non-believers  
The plans that they have made?  
Because one day, I'll leave you  
A phantom to lead you in the summer  
To join the Black Parade"_

_Sometimes I get the feeling  
She's watching over me  
And other times I feel like I should go  
And through it all, the rise and fall  
The bodies in the streets  
And when you're gone we want you all to know_

_We'll carry on, we'll carry on  
And though you're dead and gone, believe me  
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on  
And in my heart, I can't contain it  
The anthem won't explain it_

_And while that sends you reeling  
From decimated dreams  
Your misery and hate will kill us all  
So paint it black and take it back  
Let's shout out loud and clear  
Do you fight it to the end?_

_We hear the call to carry on, we'll carry on  
And though you're dead and gone, believe me  
Your memory will carry on, we'll carry on  
And though you're broken and defeated  
You're weary widow marches_

_On and on we carry through the fears  
Disappointed faces of your peers  
Take a look at me  
'Cause I could not care at all_

_Do or die, you'll never make me  
Because the world will never take my heart  
Though you try, you'll never break me  
We want it all, we wanna play this part_

_Won't explain or say I'm sorry  
I'm unashamed, I'm gonna show my scar  
Give a cheer for all the broken  
Listen here, because it's only_

_I'm just a woman, I'm not a hero  
Just a girl who wanna sing her song  
Just a woman, I'm not a hero  
I don't care!_

_We'll carry on, we'll carry on  
And though you're dead and gone, believe me  
Your memory will carry on, you'll carry on  
And though you're broken and defeated  
You're weary widow marches on_

_Do or die, you'll never make me  
Because the world will never take my heart  
Though you try, you'll never break me  
We want it all, we wanna play this part  
(We'll carry on)_

_Do or die, you'll never make me  
Because the world will never take my heart  
Though you try, you'll never break me  
We want it all, we wanna play this part  
(We'll carry on)_

As the last note ended, there was an eruption of applause. If I could blush, I would be bright red right now. I smiled shyly and made my back over to where Edward was sitting. He held his arms out for me and I quickly embraced him. I rested my face in the crook of his neck and inhaled his scent, as he did with mine, before I kissed him chastely on the lips.

"That was amazing, Bella," he said with sincerity in his voice. I just smiled against his neck and placed a kiss there.

The rest of the night went like that and by the end, we were all more relaxed. We had three hours before we had to head out when we heard them approach. All of our heads whipped towards the door as my nerves kicked in full force again.

* * *

**A/N: Please don't hate me for the cliffie. Next two chapter will be the battle with Maria as well as the unveiling of Bella's destiny. I am hoping to get it finished soon and will update as soon as I can. I began working on a side story that has nothing to do with Twilight (I can't believe I just uttered 'nothing to do with twilight' :o) so my updates may take a little longer. Please have patience and I will do everything I can to make sure the wait is well worth it :)**

***** The song that Bella song is by My Chemical Romance and is my favorite song. I figured that everyone in the story needed to relax a little so I added this part. Plus, who doesn't love an Emmett imitation of Vanilla Ice?**

***** Please let me know what you all thought. Press the little button at the bottom.**

***** Question of the day… Does anyone like the Hillywood show? If so, what is your favorite video of theirs? Mine personally, is the New Moon Parody, but I can't wait for the Eclipse parody to come out. I'll put the links in my profile for the Parodies as well as the songs from this chapter. **

***** Take care and I'll update A.S.A.P :)**


	7. Journey To Battle

**A/N: I am sorry that this took so long to get up. My laptop crashed, after I hadn't been feeling well for a while, and I lost every single file of mine. Thankfully, I got this to my awesome Beta before that happened. **

***** Okay, as I explain in the end chapter A/N, I had to make the battle with Maria into two separate chapters because it will be too long for just one chapter. So, this chapter is leading up to getting there and the next chapter will be when they arrive, the battle, and Bella's destiny is unveiled. However, please don't hate me, but the explanation of Bella's destiny will not be until the chapter after. I thought a heads up might save me from getting tomatoes thrown at me. **

***** Thanks to Jasperose, **_**the coolest**_** beta, for doing what she does best! :)**

***** This chapter is dedicated to everyone who reviewed my last chapter. I really want to thank everyone that has been following this story and I hope that you will continue to read it.**

***** Disclaimer: I do not own twilight or any songs mentioned in this story. All proper rights goes to the proper owners. The song in Alice's POV is called "Vanilla Twilight" by Owl City. It's an awesome song, so check it out. I'll put a link on my profile later.**

**

* * *

**_**Previously… **_

_There were three hours before we had to head out when we heard them approach. All of our heads whipped towards the door as my nerves kicked into full force again. _

_

* * *

_

**BPOV **

My nerves were back full force but I smiled slightly. More reinforcements, I thought. I opened the door before the knock came and moved to the side so the wolves could come in. Of course they were in human form or else I doubt Esme would have let them in the house. I chuckled internally.

"I'm glad you came," I said with a smile and gestured them to join us in the living room. Sam, Jacob, and Leah stopped in their tracks when they saw all of the new vampires in our company, but Seth walked right in like he was one of us and sat down beside Edward. I have always adored that kid. He's one of a kind and like a little brother to me.

I knew that the wolves would be uncomfortable in the presence of so many vampires, so I didn't comment on their edginess. We were used to them, but the nomads clearly weren't and were having the same problem as Sam, Jacob, and Leah. I rolled my eyes and sat beside Seth, who hugged me.

"You can always count on us," Seth said to me. I smiled in appreciation.

Sam cleared his throat and looked around at everyone before his eyes landed on me. "Bella, I'm sorry that we couldn't provide more numbers but we also have to protect our people. Most of the ones we left behind were too young to really be involved in this anyway, and we left behind a couple of the more mature ones just in case…" He trailed off.

"I completely understand, Sam. I do appreciate all of your help and it means a lot to me that you would even consider helping us."

"Well, what are mortal enemies for?" Seth winked, efficiently breaking the ice.

I filled the pack in on the game plan for later and we moved outside to practice a little more. They hadn't had a chance to train with us yet. I was a little shocked at how well Seth fought. He was skilled even for his small stature. To be honest, they were all skilled fighters, but Leah seemed to have the most skill. I could already imagine all of the enemies that would fall at her feet. I guess it should bother me to think about the destruction of others of my kind but I had no room in my heart for remorse of this kind. These vampires were evil and dangerous and needed to be taken care of.

The pack followed us outside and Peter filled them in on how to efficiently kill newborns, since that was not my area of expertise. Peter had already explained that the wolves took care of the vampires surrounding my capture but he wanted them to be ready for any attack. After he showed them what he could in regards to newborns, I showed them a few essential moves that would definitely come in handy in a fight. Javier was to thank for a couple of the moves, as well as Peter.

We trained for another hour before it was time to get ready to leave. If I was still human, I am sure I would be having a panic attack right now. I could almost feel the whisper of a heart thumping roughly in my chest. I don't think I will feel any better until I see for myself that Jasper is safe and sound.

"Okay, everyone gather up, please." Once everyone was around me, I continued, "Alice picked out the outfits so we should all go change and grab some spare clothes in case they are needed. I also want anyone with longer hair to have it pinned up and out of the way so that it can't be used against you. Char told me that when female vampires are lacking in skill, they make up for it in rough housing so let's not allow that to happen. Once you are done getting changed, please meet out in the front so we can divvy up who will be in which cars.

With that said, Edward and I headed up to our room to get dressed. "Your clothes are in the bathroom, Bella," Alice said from her room.

I headed into the bathroom and looked warily at the clothing that Alice chose. _"You have got to be kidding me. Alice!" _I nearly shrieked as I picked up the 'clothes'.

I heard her laughing from her bedroom as she told me to woman up and put the damn clothes on. I'm so glad I can amuse you, Alice, I thought as I rolled my eyes.

I put the clothes on and headed back out to the bedroom so Edward could braid my hair. Sure, I could do it myself, but I love how Edward does it more. I stopped in my tracks as I saw what he was wearing. I could see my slacked jaw and widened eyes mirrored on his face. He was wearing form fitting black jeans with a tight black shirt. It showed off his muscles and sculpted chest. I could be drooling right now and not even care about that. He looked so sexy in those clothes.

"Bella…" he said as he gazed up and down at my outfit. I, myself, was dressed in a tight black leather vest and very short black, leather, shorts. I didn't like how it showed my scars but I definitely approved of Edward's reaction to it.

I walked over to him and kissed him on the lips before nuzzling my face in his chest. "You look so handsome, Edward," I said as I kissed directly over where his heart used to beat.

"And you look stunning, love," he whispered huskily in my ear. I shivered at the sound of his voice.

A knock at the door broke the spell surrounding us and I growled in my chest as Alice peeked her head in. "C'mon you two. We really should get going," Alice said and I could see the impatience in her eyes. Her aura has been a little lighter today and I could see the hope radiating off of her. She was hoping for the best and I can't disappoint her.

I nodded my head and ran to the closet to grab a black hoodie and some sweats before following her down the stairs. When we reached outside, everyone was standing around in similar outfits to Edward and me. The guys were dressed just like him and the girls were dressed just like me; minus the hoodie and sweats.

I looked at Alice curiously. "Why are we all wearing the same clothes?"

She smirked and said, "Psychological warfare. It's something Jasper once told me about. They will not be expecting our numbers and the matching clothes show our unity."

"Psychological Warfare…perfect thinking pixie!" Peter said as he clapped her lightly on the back. "Vampires are instinctually wary of those with scars and most of us have at least some scars." Peter looked at me apologetically. He knew that I hated to show my scars but if it would help us, even in the slightest, with psyching out Maria's lackeys then I would do it.

"Good idea," I said. I gave him and Alice a smile to show that I wasn't upset. Alice gave me a quick hug before taking my hand and leading me to the garage.

"Who is with whom?" Seth asked.

I looked to Rose since this was her job. "I think we should put groups together. Carlisle, Esme, Eleazar, and Carmen will ride in Carlisle's Mercedes; Javier, Gabriella, Serpahina and Grayham will ride in the Vanquish; Em, Alice, and I will ride in my car; Kade, Alexus, Kate, and Irina will ride in the Volvo, the wolves will ride in the Porche; and Naomi, Aiden, Peter and Char will ride Jasper's Bugatti." Rose informed us.

"Umm, Rose, what about Edward and me?" I felt a little left out that she would forget us.

Rose smirked at me and moved over to a white sheet in the corner of the garage. She grabbed the sheet and smiled at me. "You and Edward will ride in this," she said as she pulled the sheet off in a flourish.

My eyes widened as I took in the sight of the car. My dream car! I squealed as I ran over to it and touched it reverently. Before me was the perfect piece of machinery known as an Enzo Ferrari. It was silver and it looked like downright sex on wheels.

"How did you know?" I whispered as I looked at Rose with wonder in my eyes.

"I had nothing to do with this—besides customizing it and making it even faster than it began as."

I looked at Edward and he came over and kissed me on the top of the head. "Just for you, love," he whispered in my ear.

I am sure I looked like a kid in a candy store but I really didn't care. Edward wrapped his arms around my waist as he dropped keys into my hand. I looked at him curiously and he nodded to the car.

".God. This is perfect!" Everyone laughed at my outburst but I couldn't even begin to care because of the car in front of me. When I first joined this family, I had a problem accepting things from others but I came to realize that it is just what family does for each other. Plus, our family has more money than we could spend.

"Okay, Bella, if you are done ogling your baby, perhaps we should get this show on the road?" Peter smirked at me. I just nodded and everyone parted in their respective groups.

I got into the driver's seat and made sure everything was set just right as Edward got into the passenger's seat. I turned my baby on and she purred to life. I smiled as I caressed her dash, causing Edward to chuckle. "Bella, I take it you like your new car?" he asked.

"You have no idea," I grinned as I threw her in reverse and took off after the rest of the group. I was curious to see how fast I could go in this, but we had still had a while in order to test it. Our cars were lined up like a vampire choo-choo train. We had a long ways to go so I turned on some music and got comfortable in my seat.

* * *

**PPOV (Peter) **

I was letting my wife drive because I had too much on my mind to be able to really concentrate on the road. What was currently on my mind? Bella. I could only hope that once this was all over that she would forgive me for keeping her in the dark about everything. Only I know the full extent of my 'gift'; not even Char knows the full truth. It's not that I have wanted to keep it a secret; it's just that it has been imperative to Bella's future that she doesn't know everything yet. She will find out everything soon and if she decides to tear some of my limbs off, then so be it. I'd allow her to do it.

Bella is the most magnificent of our kind that I have ever seen. She is coming into her new self quite well and I have great hope for the future: if we survive this battle, she will be even more powerful than she is now.

She has taken charge in everyone's time of despair to lead us against the most feared vampire coven in the South. Maria has been able to hold power and control for all these years for a couple of reasons. One, she is brilliantly evil. Two, she knows how to get what she wants.

I never, in all of my years, would have guessed that when we went to save Bella, Maria would have been able to capture Jasper. He is very powerful and I only know of one thing that Maria could hold over his head in order to keep him there—his family. That has to be the only reason he is still there.

"What's on your mind, baby?" Char asked. I looked at her and gave her a soft smile. What I ever did to deserve someone as beautiful as her, I will never know.

"A lot," I chuckled. "Mainly Bella and Jasper," I admitted.

"Ah," She said with a knowing smirk. "Are you finally going to reveal the big secret?"

I looked at her stunned. "What secret?" I asked. If I had been human I am sure I would have been sweating nervously.

"Babe, you honestly don't think that I haven't been piecing information together, do you?" she giggled.

"What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes at me and turned her focus back to the road. "Peter, I may not be gifted but I do know you. Before Bella was even introduced to us, you have been focused around her. The quirky remarks; the instant protectiveness and acceptance; the subtle hints. Peter, I don't know exactly what is going on but I am not ignorant enough to not understand that there is indeed something special about Bella. I won't push you to tell me because that is between you and her, but I am here in case you want to talk." She gave me an understanding smile which I gladly returned.

"Thank you, Char."

* * *

**APOV (Alice) **

_The stars lean down to kiss you _

_And I lie awake and miss you _

_Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere _

_'Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly _

_But I'll miss your arms around me _

_I'd send a postcard to you, dear _

_'Cause I wish you were here _

_I'll watch the night turn light-blue _

_But it's not the same without you _

_Because it takes two to whisper quietly _

_The silence isn't so bad _

_'Til I look at my hands and feel sad _

_'Cause the spaces between my fingers _

_Are right where yours fit perfectly _

_But drenched in vanilla twilight _

_I'll sit on the front porch all night _

_Waist-deep in thought because _

_When I think of you I don't feel so alone _

_Oh, if my voice could reach _

_Back through the past _

_I'd whisper in your ear _

_Oh darling, I wish you were here _

My eyes were clouded over with tears that I could no longer shed. What I wouldn't give to be able to do that one simple thing: cry. I haven't felt whole since Jasper was taken from me and my heart feels as though it has been smashed into a thousand pieces. There is only one person who can fix it. I can only hope that he can forgive me for not coming for him sooner. Every day that has gone by, my guilt has increased because it's his best friend, not his mate, who is leading everyone to his rescue.

Why wasn't I the one to lead everyone instead of Bella? It is simply because I knew that I didn't have what it would take to keep him and everyone safe. The moment that Bella was found in Louisiana, I had two visions. One was of me going to save him which ended with both of us killed. The second vision was the only one I was comfortable with because it showed me that if we followed Bella, I would see Jasper again.

I stared out the window and watched the scenery fly by. Jasper and I are so different, but we fit together so well. Where I am giddy and extremely excitable, he is calm and collected. We balance each other and he is my whole world. I have no idea what I would do without him. I do know that I wouldn't survive. We will get him back safe and sound. We have to.

* * *

**EPOV **

"Edward," Bella said with a mischievous grin. It had been silent, for the most part, for the past few hours that we had been driving.

"Yes, love?"

"Does our family have a private jet?" she asked.

My eyebrows drew together as I tried to figure out what brought on such a random question. "Yes, we have a few actually. Why?"

She ignored my question and asked another of her own, "How long would it take to get it fueled and ready to go in Houston?"

"Well, I suppose we could have it ready within the next few hours. What brought this question on?"

"I had an idea. If we split up into three groups: our family, the nomads, and the wolves, Maria's army would not suspect our numbers. It would give us another edge." She grinned at me proudly.

"Yes, that is a great idea… but what does it have to do with a plane?" I asked. I was very much confused now.

"If our family was on the front lines where only our group was seen by her army, then the other two groups could sneak in for an ambush. The wolves would be hidden out of the way and wait for the right moment to strike. The other group would be the ones in the plane."

My eyes narrowed a little as I thought about this. "But, how do you expect that to work? How would we have the time for one team to land the plane?"

Her grin widened. "I never said anything about landing the plane."

I was struck with realization at what she was hedging towards. "You mean you want one group to jump out of the plane."

She snorted. "It's not like it would hurt them."

That was true. Vampires can't get hurt from plummeting to earth from such a height and I have to admit that it is a good idea. I nodded at Bella and pulled out my cell phone.

"Yes, son?" Carlisle asked on the first ring.

"Bella had an idea that I think we should consider." I explained her idea to him and he agreed that it would probably be our best bet at a surprise attack. He said he would call and arrange the plane to be ready for flight when we arrive there. He thought that the Denalis should go with the Nomads in the plane to give Maria's army a false sense of security.

After our conversation was over, the car fell back into the silence of before. Only the radio could be heard besides the purr of the engine. I had things on my mind and I knew that Bella did as well. I didn't want to push her to talk because I know that she needs to work through things on her own first before she can deal with them.

Some of the family, in their thoughts, had subconsciously expressed their worries that Bella had been pushing me away and kicked me to the curb, so to speak. But I know that this isn't the case. The transition from human to newborn vampire is a difficult transition for anyone to make, but besides that, Bella had a very traumatic experience surrounding her change; not to mention how traumatic her life was. Bella was broken for the majority of her life, and so of course that was carried over, in some capacity, through her change.

To outsiders, it would appear as if Bella had cast me aside, but I see it for what it truly is; Bella is trying to learn how to deal with her new circumstances. She still hasn't had the chance to come to terms with Ruby's death or Phil's sick game of God so she is using the focus of Jasper's rescue as a sort of deflection method. She isn't ready to deal with everything yet. The least I can do for her is give her the time she needs.

Everyone was shocked at how well Bella took on the role of leader. She may seem like a hard-ass drill sergeant but she is really just doing what it takes to keep everyone alive. What we are setting out to accomplish isn't some game of putt-putt.

Our mission and our objective is serious and dangerous. Bella was able to see this the moment she decided on saving Jasper. It's her planning and instructions that have gotten us all ready for this battle, and it will be what saves us from getting our heads ripped off by some crazed newborn. She seems to have an innate ability for battle. She was better at the role of leader just this once than Jasper has the entire time he has been with us.

I don't have any doubt inside of me that, when this is all over, Bella will learn to move on and we'll be back to how we were before.

I have always admired her strength, but I have also always wished that she could confide in me instead of holding everything inside of herself. That is one reason I encouraged her to get close to Jasper; there was something inside of each of them that the other identified with. They knew what Hell was like so they could understand and help each other when others couldn't begin to understand them.

Yes, I was saddened by the fact that I couldn't provide such comfort to my own mate, but I knew Bella needed someone who understood her experiences. Even if I could spend a few lifetimes trying, there would be no way that I could ever repay Jasper for the comfort that he has given to my Bella. He helped her to heal before, and I can only hope that he can do that again. It will be a long road until Bella can recover from the scars of her life, but underneath those scars is a beautiful and perfect woman waiting to be set free once again.

* * *

**BPOV **

"Love, take the next exit ramp and follow Peter in to get gas for the car." It had been somewhat quiet lately, while both of us were in our own thoughts, but it was comforting to have Edward beside me this whole time. Even when we don't speak, it is like our souls are connected with one another.

I followed Peter off into town like Edward asked and I pulled up behind the other cars waiting in line for their turn at the pump. After a full five minutes, it was our turn so I pulled up and parked the car.

"I'll be just a minute," Edward told me as he grabbed the handle to his door. "I will just go pay and then I will pump the gas so we can be on our way."

I nodded and turned my attention to watch Emmett as he threw something at Peter's head. I looked closer and saw the apple bounce off of the back of Peter's head. I had to wonder where Em got the apple and why he had it. It's not like he could snack on it or anything. This scene between the two happened in under two seconds and in the next second, Edward opened his door.

The moment that the fresh air hit me, I breathed in deeply as my eyes closed. I snapped them open and looked around for the succulent fragrance that I smelled. What could it be from?

My eyes locked onto a little girl, no older than three years old, holding her mother's hand. My eyes were instinctually drawn to the veins that were pulsating underneath the little girl's skin.

_Thump-Thump... _Her heartbeat was like a beacon that was drawing me in and begging me to take her. It tempted me as nothing else has ever tempted me before and I felt my body begin to vibrate with the force of the sensations that were passing through me. The agony in my throat, which had remained relatively relaxed lately, flared to life with a new desire. The desire was no more than ten feet in front of me and I knew that I could reach it in less than a second.

My vision turned red and everything I looked at appeared to be drenched in nothing but blood, only fueling my desire for her life force. Nothing—I mean nothing—has called to me like her blood. There was a part of my mind telling me that I don't want this. That I would regret taking this girl's life. But the larger part, the monster that was breaking free, was urging me to quench my desires just this once.

_Just this once and you will never have to do it again._ It begged me.

I tried to shake its voice from my head but the more I tried to push it away, the stronger it became, until rational thought left me and I was standing outside of the car in the next instant. I crouched down, while zoning in on my prey, and just as I was about to leap, there was a force that pushed my back onto the ground. I growled at this unwelcome intrusion. I wanted nothing more than to take what was mine.

_Mine!_ I hissed, only causing the intruder to tighten their grip on me. It wasn't painful, but it did irritate me. I snarled at the person on top of me, causing them to clamp a hand over my mouth.

"Bella, you don't want this. Come back to me," the voice pleaded with me.

"I do want this!" I nearly shrieked in frustration. Why couldn't they see that I needed this? That I had to have this?

"No, Bella, you do not. Come back to me. Fight this. This is a little girl. You couldn't possibly want to hurt a little girl."

I laughed and the voice didn't even sound like me anymore. "Oh, it won't hurt. I will kill it before it even realizes I am there." I just wanted up.

I struggled against the body again but to no avail, so I did the only thing my mind could think of at the moment. I bit down on the person's hand that was still covering my mouth. They hissed in pain and that was all it took before I could flip them off and was up and moving again.

_So close!_ The monster roared in delight.

The closer I got to the girl, the more potent her blood smelled. She became even more appealing as I stalked up behind her. Just as I was about to reach out and grab her, I felt hands on me again. I snarled in protest but by the time the sound left my mouth, I had been dragged back to the car. I could still see the girl but she was getting into the car with her mother.

"_No! I need it_!" I cried out as the vehicle sped away without knowledge that I almost killed part of their family.

"You do not need it, Bella. Come back to me, please!" The voice tried to reach me again and this time it sounded familiar. I couldn't quite put a name to the voice yet because my mind was still hazy but I did recognize the voice.

"Please," I begged, "just let me have it this once. Then I will never do it again. I promise!" I pleaded.

There was a sigh of sadness and frustration before another voice reached out to me, "Sis, you need to snap out of this. The girl is gone, you're safe, and it's all over."

"_Gone!" _I snarled. How dare they allow my prey to get away from me? Who did they think they were anyway?

I turned my attention from where my meal had been to who was holding me. My head whipped around and I saw a big, burly, vampire. I hissed at him as I tried to yank my arms from his grasp. He was momentarily shocked by my strength, giving me a chance to turn on him and sink my teeth into his shoulder.

This was entirely his fault! If he hadn't stopped me, I would be satisfied by now.

Another set of arms grabbed me around the chest before pulling me down on the ground. They wrapped their arms around me with their legs on top of mine. This position put them at an advantage and I didn't like it. I bared my teeth at the others who were now circled around us.

Did they really think that they could stop me? Ha!

"Love, I'm here. Listen to my voice. Come back to me." A velvety voice whispered in my ear. For the first time since I smelled the human girl, reason began returning to me. After a few more attempts at reasoning, my vision began to clear and now I could see clearly who was surrounding me. I no longer viewed them as enemies, but as family. My eyes widened as the realization of what I tried to do hit me.

"No!" I gasped.

I stopped breathing and I felt my eyes cloud over again but instead of bloodlust covering my vision, venom did. My eyes filled with my body's equivalent of tears but I could not shed them. It was an uncomfortable stinging sensation. However, the venom was the least of my worries.

I looked down at the arms that encircled me and saw the bite mark that was made by my teeth. I shook my head back and forth as if this was just a nightmare I could wake up from. "Edward… I _bit _you!" I said in shock.

"Its fine, love. You only did what your instincts told you. I can't be angry with you for that." He reassured me as he kissed the side of my neck.

I tried to move away from him but I was still caged in his arms. I knew that I could break free if I wanted to; but I didn't. I was afraid that I would hurt him even more than I had already.

"No, it's not fine!" I snarled and instantly regretted my tone. _What is wrong with me?_

"Nothing is wrong with you, Bella. You had an instinctual reaction to what your body craves. You are a newborn and we forgot that. You have been so controlled lately that we didn't even realize how the scent of humans would affect you. This was not your fault, Bella. It was entirely our fault," he said as everyone nodded ashamedly.

I wanted to protest but I felt drained of energy. I didn't know that vampires could get tired but I felt as though I could sleep for the first time since I was changed.

Emmett! My mind recounted that I had bit another person and I gazed up in horror at Emmett. On his shoulder I could see the collection of venom from where I bit him at. I felt so disgusted with myself. How could I do such a thing? How could I harm two people I care so much for? How could I even begin to imagine harming an innocent child?

"Excuse me," a timid voice came from the right of us. We all looked over and saw a woman in her mid-thirties that was apparently the manager of the store, as her nametag stated. I had begun to hold my breathe once reason had returned to me. "Is everything alright here?"

I could tell that she was naturally nervous of us and this saddened me but also brought relief. At least she won't stay around danger. Her instincts will tell her to leave us. I haven't felt like a true monster until now. After what I almost did to that little girl, there is nothing that could convince me that I was not, indeed, a monster.

"Oh yes, everything is fine," Carlisle said in a comforting voice that he reserved to help keep situations calm. "My daughter just had a seizure, but everything is under control now," he assured her.

"Oh my!" she said, shocked. I could see how beautiful her aura was, as if she was kind inside and out. "Should I call the ambulance?" she asked, genuinely concerned.

"Oh, that will not be necessary. I am a doctor and will look after her myself. But I do thank you for your kindness." The lady blushed a little at Carlisle's way with words before she nodded and went back inside.

"Perhaps we should leave," Esme suggested. I couldn't agree more and nodded to her and looked at Edward so he would let me up.

He shook his head and stood gracefully with me still in his arms. "Em, will you and Peter come along with us in Bella's car?" Edward asked them while sitting me down in the backseat along with him. He still held me in his arms and I was grateful for it. I was afraid of myself now. If I was capable of losing such control I was afraid of my own actions.

"Sure, bro," Emmett said before he got into the driver's seat with Peter in the passenger's seat. Alice went in to make sure that everything was paid for before we all drove off.

I was still slightly shaking from the experience. I just couldn't wrap my head around what I was capable of. I am a killing machine… a predator. Of course I knew that I was a predator while hunting but I didn't realize how strong bloodlust could be. It was terrifying. I buried my face in Edward's neck and tried to will myself away from reality.

"Bella, it's okay," Edward tried to reassure me again but I just shook my head and refused to move away from this safe spot. In his arms, I felt safe. I felt safe from the world—safe from myself.

"Bella, will you look at me?" He asked. I shook my head again and I heard him sigh in frustration. "Love, you did what came natural to you. We have all been where you were but most of us didn't have someone there to stop us before it was too late. You didn't harm anyone and the girl is safe."

"Nu-uh," I mumbled stubbornly. "I bit you, Edward, and I bit Emmett too!" I cried.

"Ah, c'mon little sis, you don't actually think that you harmed me, do you?" Emmett teased from the driver's seat. I turned my head just enough to glare at him. That shut him up.

"Emmett, it doesn't matter if you were actually harmed by me or not, I still hurt you. Why can't you two understand that? I hurt my own family!"

"Bella," Peter tried his hand at reasoning with me. "You could have gotten to that girl if you actually wanted to. You are stronger than all of us and that is without including your newborn strength. If you truly wanted her blood, then nothing would have been able to stop you. You would have been in a frenzy, even more so than you were. You would have torn apart every single one of us to get to her."

I thought about what he said and it did make sense. I knew that I could have gotten out of Edward and Emmett's holds but for some reason I didn't. Perhaps it was because I wasn't thinking clearly enough but maybe, perhaps, it was because my mind still had an ounce of control left. I wanted to believe the second option, but with the irrational behavior I just experienced, I didn't know if I was capable of control anymore.

Everyone fell into silence then and I was glad for it. I felt overwhelmed with all of these new emotions. It's true that I have been a newborn for only a short time, but I have never lost control of myself like I did back at the gas station.

Hours passed as I just watched the scenery pass by at near blinding speeds. I sat in Edward's embrace staring, unblinking, out of the window. My mind had shut down somewhat and the only thing I could think about was the encounter at the gas station and how much I wanted—no, needed—that little girl's drained body in my arms, her blood in my throat. I shivered at this thought and I felt Edward pull me tighter to him. I felt him stroke my hair and murmur reassurances of our love. However, I felt oddly detatched from the whole thing. I could feel Edward pressed up against me with his face buried in my hair, but it felt as if I were miles away from him.

"Bella," his voice tried to pull me back into reality, "do you remember what you told me the day we expressed our love for each other?" He asked rhetorically. "I had told you that I didn't deserve you and that you were too good for me but by some miracle you were brought into my life and irrevocably changed me. It is very difficult, nearly impossible, for a vampire's personality and traits to change, but you did change me, Bella. You made me better and you made me believe in life again. You gave life to me. The moment that I told you all of this, you got upset and you told me that I was not allowed to think such things of myself because I was now yours and you wouldn't tolerate it. I referred to myself as a monster and you referred to me as an Angel."

He chuckled a little. "Then you told me that I needed to wake up and snap out of whatever emo-thing I was in because underneath this armor that I emotionally piled on myself, there was a wonderful guy waiting to be loved by you. You told me that you would always be by my side and help me through the tough times as well as the easy ones because we were meant to be that for one another.

"Bella, please," he begged me, "please let me be that for you. Please lean on me, love. Please, let me save you." He was shaking from trying to control the sobs that were threatening to tear from his throat at any moment.

That is when I realized how selfish I was being. Here was an amazing man who was trying to help me find that piece of me that I lost today and all I can think about is me. Way to go, Bella. _You _deserve an Emo-Award.

I turned my face, for the first time in hours, and kissed his cheek. It surprised him but in the next moment, his lips were on mine and I felt complete once again. "Thank you, babe," I said as I gazed into his eyes. He gave me his signature crooked smile and I could almost feel my dead heart beat once again.

"Peter," I began to ask what was on my mind, "why didn't I feel the temptation of human blood before the gas station? We have been driving around humans since Forks and I never felt the urge before."

He looked at me in the mirror and shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but I'm assuming it's because you were inside of the vehicle. I know that Rosalie had all of the cars reinforced with thicker windows and vents so that smells couldn't get through them as easily. Plus, you have also had your mind focused on other things. You are very controlled for a newborn and we forgot that you are still just that—a newborn. I am surprised that you were able to control yourself that well, to be honest."

I frowned as he finished talking because I feel anything but controlled. I hurt my own family. How could I hurt them? Granted, the beast took over and it was like I had no control over my body; I was only a spectator as it happened, but still, it was my body that sunk my teeth into my brother and my mate.

"Edward..." I trailed off, uncertain that I should ask him.

"Yes, love?" He stroked my hair in an attempt to calm me.

I took a deep breath, a human habit I retained after my change, and asked him, "have you ever done something that you truly regret?" I knew that he had. That's why I decided to ask him and not someone else. Plus, he is my mate. It was him who I leaned on for support.

His strokes ceased for the fraction of a second but then he returned to stroking my hair. "Yes, I have."

"How do you get over it?" I know that I sound like a scared little girl but I really couldn't care less right now.

He was quiet for a few minutes as he thought. I gave him that time as I remained quietly surrounded by him. He's everywhere; he is the venom in my veins, he is the air that I breath in when his scent swirls around me, he is the strength in my limbs, and he is my unbeating heart. He is everything that makes me who I am now.

"I don't know if you ever truly get over it. I believe that every action that comes from us stays with us and is part of us. When something happens and we truly regret our actions, the only thing we can do is to try and atone ourselves to those we have acted wrongly towards. We all have done something that we regret but many do not seek action to try and make it right, even if it will never help.

"We need to evaluate the situation and determine if our actions were actually at fault, and if they are then we have to figure out what caused those actions. Then once we confront our demons, we have to talk to the person we ended up wronging and be at their mercy. The only way to atone for the wrong we created, is to allow the one we wronged to determine what a suitable punishment for our actions is."

"Thank you," I said as I pecked his lips. It was a quick, chaste kiss, but it held a lot of meaning.

"You are more than welcome, milady."

I moved into Edward's embrace and thought about what he said. I had to atone myself for my actions against Emmett and my mate. How would I do that though?

I thought for a while about how to atone myself. Aha! I knew just how to do that. Once this whole thing with Maria is over, if I am still here, I would begin Plan _I'm-Sorry-I-Took-A-Bite-Out-Of-You_. I smiled and began to plan my plan.

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**A/N: Hate it, love it, so-so? Please leave me a pretty little review and let me know your true thoughts on this chapter. I know that I promised to have the battle in one chapter but I realized that it was too long and needed to be two chapters. Please forgive me for the unintentional fib but I do promise to make it up to you.**

***** Question of the day: Do you like the Saw movies and if so, what is your favorite one?**

**I actually watched the Saw 3D (unfortunately it was only in 2D though *sad face*) and absolutely loved it. I love the Saw movies because it may be gore and screams but it makes me think about what I could accomplish to preserve my life. It makes me wonder if I truly do have a strong enough survival instinct to survive whatever comes my way. A small tidbit about me is that I survived two massive car accidents so I'd like to think I have at least **_**some**_** survival instinct. **

**Okay, enough rambling… Saw movies, hate/love/couldn't care less?**


	8. In The End

**A/N: Here is the next chapter of Power of the Soul . Please tell me what you think by clicking that pretty little button and reviewing.**

***** I apologize for this not coming out sooner. There were Real Life issues that had to be dealt with. For your patience, I will give you a teaser of the next chapter to those who review and tell me what they truly think of this story.**

***** This chapter is dedicated to: Jen9394. I absolutely LOVE your reviews. I hope you continue to read the story and enjoy it. I appreciate that you shared such a personal experience with me and I am glad that you pulled through. :)**

***** Towards the end of the chapter, Bella links her experience of the battle to Linkin Park's song "In The End" . I thought that it was appropriate. I will put a link up in my profile for it. I also wanted you all to think of the trek to Maria s camp to the song "Cry Little Sister" . It's from the famous Lost Boys so check it out!**

*****I want to thank my Fantastic Beta Jasperose. She is AMAZING with the Beta skills.**

***** Disclaimer: I do not own anything Twilight related. All proper rights to the songs and to the story go to their proper owners.**

***** On with the show!**

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**BPOV**

Our groups had already split up as planned by the time that group one, my group, began our trek to Maria's new encampment. I had Alice monitoring Maria's movements since we left the house and, as planned, Maria's army moved camp to where we were now approaching.

Even though I had already known what we were getting ourselves into, the vampires standing before us still shocked me to the core. Each vampire had varying levels of coloring surrounding them. The intensity shook me inside. It was nearly unbearable to look at them.

The thirty didn't necessarily freak me out, but we had greatly underestimated her numbers. Before us stood thirty, but Edward picked up the thoughts of at least thirty more. Our teams are up against sixty or more trained soldiers. We had guessed at how many could be here but it was not this many.

Even though I hadn't been much of a liar in my human days, as a vampire I was able to hold the perfect poker face. My face stayed composed as though nothing was out of the ordinary and I betrayed no emotion. They couldn't know how we had underestimated their numbers.

My eyes quickly scanned the crowd, looking for my best friend. I nearly lost my carefully composed mask when I saw him; Jasper was being held by four of Maria's drones. Jasper was the most experienced fighter of us all but I could clearly see that he had not been fed in a long time and was very weak. This angered me beyond my newborn emotions. I was pissed.

Maria stepped up two paces, still a good distance from my family, and smirked at me. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" She looked me up and down with an amused expression on her face. "Is this the famous Isabella?" The way she said my name sounded just like Phil. I clenched my teeth to fight back the hiss.

I raised an eyebrow, playing my part, and stepped forward to match her two paces. "It's Bella, Maria." The aura surrounding Maria had to be the most evil one I had seen so far. Sure, others have their own darkness around them, but Maria was surrounded by the darkest of dark colors. There was no light anywhere in her.

Maria chuckled and took a moment to eye my family to see what she was going to face. She didn't seem impressed by our numbers but she also, apparently, didn't expect more than just our front line of defense. We might not have had as many fighters as her, but we had a strong motivating force; the protection of our family.

_Bella, be careful. She will charge an attack if you get any closer,_ Edward warned me and I silently thanked him.

I looked quickly at Jasper, making sure not to allow my eyes to linger on him, and saw him cringing from the emotional onslaught of those in his presence. I took a moment to reach out to him and calm him. I had never calmed anyone before but it felt instinctual and Peter did say that I needed to trust my instincts today. Jasper's eyes snapped up at me, swirling with confusion. I gave him one more quick glance before looking back at Maria.

"You don't want to do this, Maria. If you fight my family, I will destroy you." The venom in my voice was palpable.

She looked at me and laughed again. "Oh, no, my dear. I m afraid you have that backwards."

I scoffed before giving my family the signal. We charged her army head on, teeth bared and eyes blazing. I could only hope that I could get to Jasper in time.

Our front line charged Maria's front line and easily took out two of her soldiers per pair of our mates. Edward and I jumped over the next pair of newborns as Rose and Em took them out. Rose and Em were fierce fighters when fighting for their family and I was very glad that they were on our side. The plan was for Edward and I to secure Jasper as soon as we could while the rest of the family and allies took out as many of Maria's squad as possible.

A female newborn with long black hair came at me head on and I twirled at the last possible moment. As I twisted, I grabbed her arm and flung her into the next newborn, creating a type of domino effect with five of our enemies. I smirked as I watched them fall. Stupid newborns.

My concentration was broken when I heard a pain-filled scream. My head whipped around and I saw Carlisle try to rip a male newborn from Esme's arm, only to be knocked down by another newborn. My unbeating heart jumped into my chest at the look of pain on Esme's face, and I readied myself for a new opponent. Before I could leap at the newborn, though, I heard the thudding of paws and saw the wolves jump to Carlisle and Esme's aid.

My attention was drawn back to my own fight as soon as I felt the sting of venom in my wrist. I cursed my lapse in concentration as Edward removed a female's head that was attached to my wrist. Once her head was removed from her body, her jaw fell slack and I was freed from her grip. I gave Edward an appreciative smile as I tore the arm off of an oncoming attacker. How Maria managed to create so many newborns was beyond me.

After Edward and I took care of the first few newborns, my body went on autopilot and my instincts took over. I barely even noticed the ten newborns that I took out on my way over to where Maria and Jasper were. That was the plan; Edward and I take out Maria and secure Jasper while the rest of them took out Maria's army.

Edward and I worked back to back in order to make sure that nobody snuck up on us. That brilliant idea flew out the window when three newborns threw themselves at us. It was easy enough for us to take out three but more came to their aid. It was like a downpour of newborns raining down on us.

I tore off a red head and a blonde who were latched onto me, but was kicked in the face by a male who rivaled Emmett s size. Damn that hurt! I shook off the disorientation that followed a blow like that and jumped to my feet just as Edward was tearing off the male's head.

"Bella!"Alice s frantic cries reached me. I turned my attention to her and she pointed to a group of five newborns coming after me. We were still dealing with three from the early group. I growled in frustration and ran straight into them.

The thing about newborns is that they don't typically think. They are more of the do type. When you do something that they don't expect, you are able to use their assumptions against them. They just assume you will act as they act. Therefore, heading head on into a group of five newborns isn't something they would do and I was able to catch them off-guard.

If it were any other situation, I may have laughed at their shock. The shock, however, did just what I wanted and stunned them long enough to knock them all to the ground. I knew that wouldn't be enough, but it would keep them occupied until Edward made it to me. He caught on fairly quickly and came to my side as I moved to take out the newborns.

The first two were easy enough but the shock did not last long enough for us to take them all out. After we tore the second newborn to pieces, the other three jumped up and two went for Edward as another went for me.

The one who came for me was a blonde male who reminded me so much of James. Something happened that I hadn't expected I began to panic. Rationally, I knew that this male was not James, but my emotions did not care. It was like I was suddenly human again; I instantly went from a fearless warrior to a fearful tortured girl. Venom began to cloud my vision as my gaze was stuck on this James-look-a-like.

Jasper must have felt my fear because I felt calm begin to reach me, but for some reason, it did no good. My body began to shake and I began to whimper. Edward was shouting at me, trying to snap me out of it, but his voice sounded far away.

The newborn took this unfortunate complication and used it to his advantage. He came at me head-on and I couldn't even move out of his way. He crashed into me and pushed me to the ground. He stared at me with dead eyes and bit into my neck. I thought he was going to tear my head from my shoulders, but he just pushed his venom into me and moved onto a new spot. He bit me a total of six times before he was ripped off of me.

I looked up at my rescuer and sighed in relief. Edward looked angrier than I have ever seen him. He looked down at me and his eyes seemed to darken even further than they already were.

He turned his attention back to the newborn and growled in fury. "Nobody touches her!" he hissed and proceeded to decapitate the male without even biting him. He tore the rest of the limbs off and then he kneeled down next to me.

"Love, are you alright?" There was a deep sadness in his eyes.

I tried to smile at him, to show him not to worry, but I think it came out as a grimace. I sighed and just decided to be honest. "I'm okay. The newborn just took me by surprise. He bit me but he didn't do much damage. It hurts but I will be okay," I assured him.

Edward didn't look convinced, but he nodded and helped me to my feet. The venom was already sliding through my body so the pain lessened as my venom mixed with the foreign venom. I hated that someone else's venom was inside of me now but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment.

I did a quick once-over of the battle and saw that our side was handling Maria's army quite well despite the circumstances. Rose and Emmett were taking out newborn after newborn. Separately, they had good fighting skills, but together they looked unstoppable.

I then moved my eyes to Carlisle and Esme. Esme's arm was still reattaching itself so Carlisle was handling the newborns coming their way with the help of Seth. Esme was behind everyone else while her arm was healing. I wasn't sure how long it took for vampire limbs to reattach themselves but it seemed as though Esme was safe enough at the moment. I knew that Carlisle would never let anything fatal happen to her so I took in the rest of the family.

Alice was fighting with Kate and Garrett. Alice s visions were muddled when the wolves were around but she was fighting well without them. Javier wasn't kidding when he said that Garrett was well-trained as a fighter. Garrett took out newborns as if he was born to do it. I have never seen anyone fight so naturally like him before. And Kate was casually shocking vampire after vampire, smirking as they dropped to the ground. Her gift was very handy right now.

Javier and his group were taking the left side of the battlefield whereas the rest of our family took the right side of the field. The wolves were working on both sides, trying to herd the newborns into the middle of the field so we could easily dispose of them. So far, this was working fairly well, but we were still outnumbered.

Our family and friends were all fighting for their lives, literally, and they were fighting for each other. They weren't drones like Maria s army were, and their determination and strong will showed in their fighting.

I pulled my attention back to my objective and zoned in on Maria. She was standing at the end of the field, about one hundred meters away, looking at me with a smirk. She didn't think that I would last long enough to make it to her but she didn't consider the fact that I have already taken down over ten of her newborns by myself. To her, her newborns were expendable, so she didn't even bother batting an eyelash as they fell by my hands. That was the difference between her and me: she didn't care.

_Edward,_ I began through our mental connection, we have to get to Jasper and Maria soon. I have a feeling that she might bolt if we wait until more of her newborns are gone.

_I know, but how do we do that? We cannot just teleport to her. There are thirty newborns between us and Maria and she is thinking about signaling for the hidden newborns to join her other team out here on the field,_ Edward pointed out.

How? That was a good question. I tried to see other aspects as I looked around the field. My lips curled into a smile as my eyes landed on the wolves. Brilliant!

We need the wolves, I said. Edward eyed me as he tried to figure out what I meant. I showed him a picture of my idea in my mind and he nodded his head in approval as a smile of his own graced his face.

We signaled to Seth for the wolves to come over and through the wolf mind-connection thing, the other wolves were instantly aware of my signal. All of the wolves, save one to protect Esme, came over.

I whispered my plan in Seth's ear and the other wolves new instantly. The whole sharing of the wolf-mind certainly came in handy sometimes. I motioned for them to start the plan and watched as full-grown mythical wolves headed, in sync, towards the vampires between Maria and us.

It was comical to see the vampires try to scramble out of the way of the wolves. They were instinctively wary of the wolves and were rightfully scared of them. There were a few who tried to be brave for their master-cue eye roll- and stood their ground. Those stupid enough to stand in the wolve' way found their limbs detached from their bodies. Newborn after newborn fell as the wolves, Edward, and I took them out.

Everything was going great until I felt someone pull me with enough force to yank me backwards and off balance. I collided with the earth as a vampire built like a WWE fighter pinned me down and sank her teeth into my wrist. She pulled once and off it came. I howled in pain, only provoking her. She smirked as she went to grab my other wrist. I tried pushing her off and twisting to get out from underneath her, but nothing seemed to budge her. She was like a boulder just sitting on me, but unfortunately had deadly venomous teeth.

Just as her teeth met my skin, I saw her head pulled off of her and her body began twitching. It was unsettling to see a decapitated corpse twitch. I looked up and saw Alexus standing there with the woman s head in her hands. Alexus grimaced at the head and tossed it as far away from her as she could. She then wiped her hands off before she reached out to help me to my feet. She picked up my missing hand and gave it to me.

"Are you okay, Bella?" She asked, concerned.

I wanted to answer, No, it s not all right because everyone needs to keep rescuing me and I am missing a hand. Granted, it will reattach, but that isn't the point. Instead, I just answered with a "yeah, I m okay." Alexus eyed me with suspicion clear on her face, but she just nodded and jumped in to intercept a newborn that was going after Edward, who was currently fighting off two male newborns.

I watched her fight as I cradled my hand to my chest as if it was a baby. Crap, how am I going to fight without a hand? I don t have time to wait for it to reattach itself. I sighed and put my hand in my pocket. I guess I'll just have to do the best I can and hope it's better than Maria s side.

I saw a female coming my way and as she went to collide with me, I sidestepped her and grabbed her hair with my remaining hand and held her in place while I ripped her neck off with my teeth. Okay, so apparently not all of my skills relied on both hands.

The wolves were working like one machine and took down newborn after newborn. They were unstoppable. There were now only a few newborns between Maria and us. I smirked at her to only be rewarded with a snarl. I guess she finally realized that she underestimated us terribly.

She already called in the other part of her team but they came in on the other side of the field and were where we began. They were battling with the rest of our team while Edward and I were gaining ground near Maria.

_Edward,_ I thought to him, _I think we should play leapfrog_.

_What?_ His thoughts were confused.

_There are only four newborns between Maria and us. I think we should just leap over them and let the wolves take the four out_.

He nodded and we began running towards the newborns and jumped at the last moment before they could catch onto what we were doing. We made the leap over the four, but just barely. My heel clipped on the shoulder and they crashed to the ground.

Maria looked around for an escape and when she saw none, she tried to act unafraid and unsurprised. However, I knew the difference because I could see fear begin to seep into her aura. I smirked as I closed in on her.

"Now, now, Maria, that wasn't funny to sic so many newborns onto my family," I chastised her. I took a step towards her and she backed up. We continued this game until she was backed into a wall. I had her just where I wanted her.

"You know what irritates me, sweet Maria?" I asked her as I stroked her hair. "She didn't answer so I continued, "What irritates me is when people take what doesn't belong to them. Now this is how I see it, Jasper is not yours. He never was yours. He never will be yours. I do not see how you could believe that he was actually, in fact, yours."

"I created him," she glared at me as she tried to move herself away from my demeaning petting.

"Poor Maria. You're wrong in that account, dear," I told her with a smirk.

"It's my venom that flows through his veins." Her eyes were wild and angry.

"True," I agreed, "however, who created him was his mother. You did nothing but take his life from him and force him into hell until he left you. You made his life miserable and you made it difficult on him to overcome his bloodlust. Because of you, he killed innocents. Because of you, he was forced to live with a shattered soul. Because of you, he wears everyday not only the scars on his skin but also the scars on his heart.

"You are nothing but a monster, Maria. You do not deserve the power you have taken over others. You create vampires to service your needs. You are a power-hungry beast and I will not allow you to ruin another person s life,"I told her with glaring hatred pouring off of me.

"There is something that you forgot, sweetheart," she sneered at me.

I laughed once, humorlessly, before replying. "And what would that be?"

"You may be the skilled fighter, but I have something that you do not. I have power," she said as she yelled someone's name. A moment after she called for someone, I heard Edward's cry of pain. My head whipped around and I saw two newborns attacking him. I dropped Maria without a second thought and moved to pull the vampires off of him.

I tore the first one off Edward, removing its arm in the process, before moving to take out the other vampire. This one put up a fight and by the time I got him off of Edward, I lost a finger on my remaining hand. I hissed in pain and tore the vampire's head off. I kneeled down to look Edward over and saw that he was missing his right arm. I growled in anger and handed his arm to him to reattach.

I shot up and pinned Maria to the wall. She was stupid enough to not make a move to leave when she had the chance. I slammed Maria s head against the wall and her head left a hole there. I knew that it wouldn't hurt her but it made me feel just a fraction better.

"You can touch me but if you touch my mate, you die. It s quite simple. I am surprised you didn't figure it out sooner," I snarled at her.

"I didn't touch him," she smirked.

"Your drones did. Therefore, you did since, by your definition, you created them. Sucks to have your own messed up logic held against you, doesn't it?"

"You think you can kill me?" She asked with that damn smirk of hers.

"Oh, I know I can," I told her, matching her expression.

I took her fingers, one by one, and broke them off of her hand. She screamed in pain and I relished in that sound. I then proceeded to take off each wrist. Just as I was about to remove her right arm, Edward yelled a warning to me but I saw the threat too late. The soldiers that were guarding Jasper left him to come to their Mistress aid.

Once Jasper was free, he tried to move but it looked like he was held by an invisible force field. He couldn't move an inch and then I saw why. There was a newborn, with apparently a gift, that was looking directly at him with a very concentrated look. Edward tried to get to me but was held up by two newborns deciding at that moment to fight him.

The four newborns rushed at me, pinned my arms at my sides, and began to bite into me. Their venom stung like nothing before. I had thought that the more venom that reached my body, the less I would feel it. That surely wasn't true and I was stupid to even think it.

The short female bit into my arm, the one with the missing hand, and ripped my arm clean off. I cried out in pain. Edward fought as hard as he could to get to me but he couldn't shake the newborns. None of the rest of the family was near me so I figured that I was on my own.

The same female that detached my arm began to detach small pieces of my remaining arm. Piece by piece came off and it hurt like hell. I tried to struggle against them but they held me firmly in place. The female looked at me with the most demented smile. She was enjoying this very much.

She detached my arm all the way to upper arm before she paused. She looked at me with curiosity. "That doesn't feel good, does it?" She asked with a heavy southern accent.

"What in the hell do you think?" I spat.

"I'm guessing that it hurts like a son-of-a-gun. If it hurts so badly then why did you do it to my Mistress?" She asked while cocking her head to the side.

I laughed humorlessly. "After all that she has done to you and taken from you, you are still loyal to her? That is the most idiotic thing I have ever heard."

She glared at me and began tearing my arm off to the shoulder and smirked as the pain crossed my features. "It's too bad that you had to be such a smartass. Now I have to kill you," she said in a cheery voice.

This is not how I thought this battle would go. I knew that it was dangerous and all, but I hadn't realized how much we would lose in the process of getting Jasper back. Don t get me wrong, I love Jazz and I would do anything to get him back. I just hadn't realized that I might not see him again after the battle. I had thought that we would all walk away, hand in hand, hurt and tired but all in one piece. I thought we'd all head home, curl up on the big couches, and recount our tough battle. I thought we d all have a chance to tell each other our stories, the fights we had and the newborns we killed. I thought I'd still be alive.

This is not how I pictured my death. I had pictured something much more human. With James, when I was growing up, I figured that he would hand me my death on a silver platter. I figured that he would be the one to kill me, and I figured I'd see it coming. I guess I thought I'd be more prepared. I certainly didn't think it would be some smartass vampire.

My family will free Jasper. They have to. We'd come so far, we'd been through so much. They will get him back. This whole mess reminded me of a Linkin Park song. Which seems like a strange thing to be thinking of in my last few moments on earth. Only I, Bella Swan, could relate music to my own death.

_I tried so hard and got so far_  
_But in the end it doesn't even matter _  
_I had to fall to lose it all _  
_But in the end it doesn't even matter_

Yup, that about sums it all up. I tried so hard to do my best, to give my best, but it doesn't even matter. I will not be here tomorrow. I will not get to see Edward smile. I will not get to see my wedding, for there will not be a wedding without at bride. I hope that Edward will find someone that will take care of him. He deserves happiness, even if it is not with me.

Apparently the newborn saw the pain cross my face when I was thinking about Edward, because she started laughing.

"Awww, did the little vamp realize she is about to die?" She asked mockingly.

I ignored her question and spat, "If you are going to kill me then get it over with."

She and Maria just started laughing and Maria said to me, "Oh, don t worry, we will get it over with. However, it will be just a little painful, she smirked, but we will take care of you, don't worry. But first, did you really think that I would just fall at your hands? You must have been stupid in your human life because I am powerful. Nobody messes with me. Got it?"

"Look around, Maria. My family is killing your army left and right. They will destroy them, and then they will come after you, Maria. You will not continue to ruin lives. You will fall today, whether it is by my hands or my family's," I informed her.

Maria snarled at me and told the newborn to get rid of me. The newborn nodded to her Mistress and then she pushed me away from her. I thought, just for a moment, that I was freed, but of course I couldn't be so lucky.

When the newborn pushed me away, five of Maria's soldiers grabbed me. I was confused for a moment, while I tried to figure out what was going to happen, but I quickly found out what was happening when a male vampire bit into me. The other four vampires followed his lead and began biting me all over. Their venom stung and a whole slew of profanity flowed from my mouth.

Maria came up to me and laughed. It was a cold and mocking sound. She looked me over as if I were her entertainment for the night and said, "You know, if you hadn't been such a brat, perhaps we could have worked together. You are quite the little soldier and I think you could have been my new second-in-command. It's really a pity. I guess that I will just have to enjoy killing you instead." She could've been talking about the weather, she was so casual. I think she is clinically insane. She has to be. There is no other explanation.

Before I could say anything, Maria came up to face me, pulling something from the back of her belt and holding it up so I could see. She held a knife, but the blade was made of something white. It glistened in the sunlight and something about it made my fight or flight instincts kick into overdrive. I began to struggle against the vampires that were holding me but I couldn't shake them off.

Maria began explaining what the knife was, "This, my lovely, is a special knife. Do you know why?"She didn't wait for my answer before continuing; "This knife is special because it can actually cut through vampire skin. As you know, our skin is almost impossible to penetrate unless vampire teeth or werewolf teeth is what is cutting through vampire skin. This knife is handmade, from the teeth of werewolves. It was very difficult to get but, if you know the right people, you can get anything. Do you want me to show you how well this knife works?" she asked. My stomach fell to my knees. This was going to hurt.

"Maria, I am tired of your antics. Do what you are going to do or leave me the hell alone," I spat, trying to sound much more confident and self-assured than I really was.

"Such a little spitfire. What a shame to destroy you. A pity, really, she frowned but her frown instantly brightened. Oh, well, on with the show," she gestured to the battle.

I looked over to where Edward was and I saw him still fighting the newborns. His eyes caught mine and I could tell that he knew what was going to happen. He struggled harder, in an effort to get to me, but it was of no use. The newborns had a strong hold on him.

"Bella! Bella!" he screamed over and over. Pain was written all over his face and it hurt to see such distress contort his beautiful face.

"I'm sorry, Edward,"I said to him as venom clouded my vision, "I love you, always." As I said this, Maria took the knife and held it up to my face, cutting it as she did, to show me what it could do. Then without warning, she took the knife and jabbed it into the skin right above my pelvis. It sliced through my skin just like a hot knife in butter. She pulled the knife in an upward motion and it cut from my pelvis all the way up to my ribs. The pain was excruciating. My hearing and vision began to fade in and out.

The vampires kept biting me all over my body and as their venom flooded my system, memories of James flowed through my mind. His torture, after the prom, was flashing through my mind and I began to get angry, despite the pain from Maria's knife.

I heard Edward's voice roar above the sounds of battle, but everything seemed muted and far away. I had no idea what was happening, but, oddly, I wasn't afraid. Everything seemed like an out of body experience for a while.

I remember that Maria and her fighters seriously injured me. The pain was excruciating, but now there is no more pain. For the first time in my life, I feel alive. The irony doesn't escape me it takes a dead girl to feel alive. My God, am I dying? It seems that I must be, even though I doubt many dying vampires have felt this before.

Warmth spreading through my body warms me from the inside out. I have never felt this before. I feel warm, peaceful, and unafraid.

The warmth begins stretching and encasing me. Suddenly, the darkness clouding my vision lifts and I can see my family below. Everyone is looking at me in awe and the battle was momentarily forgotten. Maria s army took the distraction and launched to attack.

I didn't consciously know what I could do to help them, but something inside of me told me to let go of my darkness. At first I didn't know what that meant but memories starting flitting through my mind.

Janessa and her grandparents dying in front of me while I survived the car accident... The pain from the car accidents... My mother's change once she met Phil/James... James holding me down on the floor and taking my innocence from me... James beating me and my mother laughing when I told her what he did... Isolation from society and from my peers... James breaking my body and my soul... James leaving me for dead... James biting me over and over before Edward found me.

The images came faster and faster as the anger and pain of those moments in time came back to me. I closed my eyes and felt those emotions wash through me. For once, I embraced those emotions and gave them life. The Phoenix pendant around my neck began to gather warmth in it. Then I felt the emotions physically leave me and I began to fall. As I fell, the darkness surrounded me yet again.  


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**EPOV**

"Bella! Bella!" I screamed. Maria had a hold of Bella and they were hurting her. I kept trying to get to her, but the newborns holding me were too strong for me. I swear that some of these vampires had to have been wrestlers in their human life.

Maria took something that looked like a knife and held it up to Bella and cut her face. Maria told Bella that it was made of real Werewolf teeth. I have never heard of anyone creating something like that. Maria then proceeded to stab Bella and cut her open.

I could clearly see the venom flowing from her wounds. She was losing too much venom too quickly. Vampires relied on their venom just as a human relies on their blood. It gives us life. I have never heard of a vampire dying from loss of venom but something told me that it was possible.

I struggled harder and harder to get to Bella but I couldn't even move. Bella began to weaken and I could see her fighting to remain strong. I could feel her pain through our connection and it would have brought me to my knees if I had been able to move.

Then something happened something that I have never witnessed before.

Bella began to rise. It was as if something was pulling her upwards. She began to float up into the air. She rose up nearly twenty feet in the air and her arms, or what was left of them, went out to her sides. Her head tilted upwards and she looked like and angel giving herself over to the universe.

I could see what she was thinking and I cringed as all of the images flashed through her mind. She saw everything that was painful in her life. She saw the hell she lived in and everything in her life that hurt her. It washed through her like a flowing river.

The warmth that spread through her was unlike anything I have ever witnessed before. Light began to pour over her. The light was pure and beautiful. It seemed almost divine. The light encased her and pulsated and grew in intensity.

The noise from the battle ceased as everyone was watching what was occurring with Bella. I had no idea what was going on. I have never witnessed anything like this before. The light began to grow and darken. The light that was pure and bright began to dim and become almost black. It was hard to put a name to the color that it became. The darkness spread through her and the light surrounded her. Soon the light was gone and in its place was only the darkness.

Bella opened her eyes and saw us. Her eyes were no longer red but they were as black as the darkness surrounding her. She looked at me and at the rest of our family and friends. Everyone was looking at her and their thoughts were all the same: What the... They weren't exactly articulate in their thoughts right now.

I saw it in their minds before it happened but I couldn't find my voice to warn them. The newborns took our family s distraction as their opening. They jumped in and began to attack our family. Bella saw this and some emotion, that I couldn ' quite understand, crossed her features. She closed her eyes and I felt her determination.

It happened all very quickly. Bella said in a powerful, loud, and overwhelming voice, "NO!" Once that word left her mouth, the darkness surrounding Bella flew out from her and it took the shape of a wave and crashed into all of Maria's army. The darkness covered them, but did not touch our family, friends, and allies. The darkness that hit Maria's army began to make them cry out. Their thoughts were that of horrific pain that would make anyone crumble under its pressure. It made them scream and holler. It was like the aftermath of a car wreck you know you shouldn't sit and watch it, but you can't take your eyes off of it.

The enemies were still flopping on the ground in pain. I had no idea what was happening, but I think that the pain that Maria's army was feeling was the pain that Bella carried with her.

We seized the moment and finished off Maria's little gang. We ripped apart every single one of them and we started a fire to burn the pieces.

"Make sure that you have all of your ears, fingers, and toes!" Emmett's voice boomed.

"Way to break the mood there, brother," I chuckled.

"Well you know what they say: The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese," Emmett had the biggest grin possible. Well, he did until Rose slapped him upside the back of his head. We all started to chuckle before we grew serious and looked back at Bella. She was still floating in the air with a very bright white light surrounding her.

I heard Carlisle gasp and say, "A Warrior."

I turned to him and raised an eyebrow in question. "What do you mean? What's happening with Bella? Why is she floating in the air and why could she do all the things that happened today? Carlisle, I need answers," I said, growing frantic.

Carlisle looked at Peter with widened eyes. His thoughts were full of awe and shock. "Is it true?" he asked.

Peter looked sheepish and said, "Yes, it s true."

"What is true?" I demanded, "what is going on with my mate?"

Carlisle looked embarrassed that he was so sidetracked. He looked at Bella once more before turning towards me and explained, "Edward, your mate is a Warrior. She s a chosen one. Warriors are a rare breed of vampire. They are the vampire version of Guardian Angels. Their story is a complicated one and I need to do some research on it before I can give anything more to you. Once we all get home, I will explain more. Peter, will you be able to he-," Carlisle was cut off when I ran to where Bella was. She was beginning to fall and I reached her spot just in time to catch her. I looked down at her face and saw that she was unconscious. Vampires do not go unconscious.

_"Peter you have some explaining to do or so help me, I will throw your ass in the fire!"_ I yelled at him.

**

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A/N: Like or dislike? I will have the full explanation of what a Warrior is their history and their purpose in the next chapter. I want to apologize for this chapter. It is not one of my best so please if you throw tomatoes at me, please aim for my legs instead of my face.**

***** Question of the day: Did you see the Eclipse Parody from the Hillywood show? If so, what did you think? If not, then go watch it! I will put a link to it on my profile. They released it and I think they did an excellent job on it. Also, there will be a link to a video the Hillywood Show did with Evil Iguana Productions. I thought it was hilarious.**


	9. Warrior

**A/N: This chapter was meant to be up a lot sooner, but things happened and got in the way. I still cannot guarantee regular updates because of what happened last month with my mother, but I do promise to make the updates worth the wait. **

***** This chapter is dedicated to all of you for being patient with me. I also want to thank you all for your support and your words. They mean a lot to me.**

***** A special thanks to my awesome Beta: Jasperose for sticking with me and refining my work. I owe you a lot :) **

***** I hope that this chapter will have some answers for everyone. **

***** Disclaimer: As always, I do not own anything Twilight related, but I do own my ideas.**

***** Please let me know what you think… Please Read and Review.**

***** Warning: This chapter does contain some abusive subject matter. Please read the end author's note.**

**BPOV**

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"She'll be waking up in twenty-three seconds," a voice said.

I tried to open my eyes but they were very heavy. A moment later, I felt warmth on each of my eyelids. A smile stretched my mouth and I felt that warmth there. A chuckle finally woke me; my eyelids fluttered twice before they fully opened. I felt a warm hand squeeze mine. I looked towards my right and saw Edward perched on my bedside, smiling brightly at me and I couldn't help but to return it. Behind him were the rest of our family and friends—how they all fit in such a small room was beyond me. My eyes scanned the crowd of people that I never thought that I would see again. I thanked whatever deity that would listen for this second chance. They all smiled at me.

My own smile grew when I saw Jasper with his arms around Alice. He winked at me as he walked up beside me on my left. Jazz knelt down so that he was eye level with me before he took my hand. "You didn't think you'd actually gotten rid of me, did you Darlin'?" he teased.

I was just about to lift my hand up to playfully slap him, but Edward knew my intentions and did it for me. The room broke out in laughter which was very contagious. Unfortunately after the first laugh, my stomach seized in pain and I doubled over clutching it. Edward got up to make room for Carlisle. Esme ushered the rest of them out. Jasper was about to leave before I yanked him back and glared at him. Oh no, he wasn't getting out of my sights anytime soon.

"Bella do you remember what happened?" Carlisle asked me as he began to lift my shirt up while still keeping me decent. I shook my head. "During our fight with Maria's army, newborns overtook you and Edward. Our lines were already cornered and fighting and there was no one near you and Edward to be of any aid. Maria cut you along here," he traced the length of the bandage before he began removing it. Underneath was an open wound with venom and blood leaking out of it.

I eyed him questioningly. "Why didn't it heal?"

He sighed and put the bandage back over the wound. "I assume it was because of the type of knife that she did it with. From what I was told, it was made from real werewolf teeth. Unlike the LaPush shape-shifters, whose marks do heal fairly quickly, wounds created by pure werewolf teeth take considerably longer."

"Oh," I said dumbly. "So we just wait?"

"Unfortunately that is nearly all we can do. With bed rest and blood regularly, you should heal, but I am not sure how long that will take," he said sadly.

"How will the blood be transported?" I asked curiously. He glanced at Edward.

"Love, he means human blood," Edward said gently.

"No," I shook my head.

"Bella, it's really for the-" Carlisle was cut off as I flipped out of the bed and crouched into the corner. I could feel the blaze of my eyes as happened with Maria and I knew that I looked every ounce the vampire that I am. I felt calm overcome me and rebelled against it. "Jasper, I love you, but if you know what's good for you, you will remove it this instant!" I growled out. It immediately receded and he even looked sheepish.

"Bella, I think we should discuss this," Carlisle tried to reason with me before taking a step forward. He immediately stopped once he heard my growls getting louder.

"No, Carlisle, I think we shouldn't," I snarled. I took a deep breath before I spoke again, trying to regulate the venom in my voice. "This is one issue that I will not budge on. Remember the little girl, Carlisle?" I asked.

At my question he nodded. "Nothing happened, though."

I laughed out a harsh laugh and glared at him and Edward in turn. "And nothing will happen in the future. I refuse human blood. I am pretty sure that you do not want me moving around like I am," I said and to punctuate my words, I took a leap left even though pain seared up through my entire being. Jasper and Edward both winced the instant I felt it myself, but I kept my face from showing it. "If you don't want me taking an evening run to the Florida, I would suggest that you do not push me on this matter, Carlisle. I am not beyond it, and you all know it. I can be quite stubborn and this pain is nothing."

Carlisle lifted his hands in a peaceful gesture and took a step backwards. "Alright, we do it your way. But do not push me on the consumption of animal blood and rest for you know that I will have guards posted at every exit if you do."

Everyone relaxed as I straightened out of my crouch. I nodded. "Fair enough." Edward was beside me in a moment and had me in his arms in even less. He put me back in bed and raised my shirt back up. I saw that a blood/venom mixture was nearly flowing from it. I looked with a hard look at Carlisle to make sure he understood that I would do it all over the next time he tried to force human blood on me. "And I will know the difference," I said in a hard, no-nonsense, voice. He nodded and motioned for Jasper to leave with him. Before Jasper left, he placed a kiss on my forehead.

The minute that the door closed, I felt Edward's warm mouth on my stomach. My eyes snapped to see what he was doing. His eyes were gazing into mine with concern. I watched as his tongue darted out and licked over the wound to seal it. He licked the blood from my stomach, all the while looking into my eyes, and he pulled my shirt off.

At my lustful gaze he chuckled and shook his head. "You know, Bella, you are perhaps the only person who could survive what you did and still have lustful thoughts so soon," he tsk'd me as he grabbed a shirt from our closet and helped me into it.

"Can you really blame me?" I asked with a smirk as he helped me into a black short sleeved shirt that I recognized as his.

"Perhaps just a bit," he replied with his adorable crooked grin. Then his face grew serious. "Bella, that was a very stupid thing to do. I understand your concerns, I do, but you need certain things in order to get better. Nobody would hold it against you if you consumed human blood," he tried to reassure me.

"Edward, can you honestly tell me that human blood will help heal a wound from a knife made out of werewolf teeth any better than animal would?" I asked him softly.

He thought for a moment before sighing softly, "No."

"Exactly," I told him. "There is no way to know that it wouldn't help the same. The truth is, we don't know what will heal this. It's not so much the fact that it would be human blood it's the fact of what that means. I cannot allow myself the chance of feeling what I felt at that gas station. Not even if it meant my health or my life. Can't you understand that?" I implored.

He nodded and kissed the hand that he was holding of mine. "I can, love, and I admire you. Not many vampires, let alone newborns, would give up the chance at free human blood."

"Well you know me. I always have to do things the hard way," I teased.

He chuckled and nodded. "That you do, love."

"Hey you, I don't believe that I got a proper 'good afternoon' kiss."

"Oh how could I be so negligent?" he rolled his eyes but leaned down to kiss me fully and passionately. All too soon he pulled back.

I saw the blackness in his eyes and mentally kicked myself at not noticing myself before. "Edward, why don't you go hunting?" I asked.

He looked at me and shook my head but thankfully I could feel his thirst through our link. I turned on my "kickass vampire glare" and he flinched back some. Sometimes tough love was needed.

"Edward, please," my eyes softened to show my concern. "Plus, I am thirsty myself. Perhaps you could find some thermoses to bring some back with you. I am sure there were a couple in the kitchen before my change."

He looked uncertain but the persuasion of my own thirst threw him over the edge. "Okay, love, I will hunt for us both. Why don't you try to rest some. I won't be gone long," he assured me. I nodded and with one more kiss, he was gone.

There was a knock at the door and I called for Jasper to come in. "You know, that really must have freaked you out when you were human," he said as he closed my door and took a chair from the corner to place beside my bed for himself.

I shrugged and nodded. "Yeah a little. But not as much as you are assuming because if you forgot, I already knew what you were when I met you all," I smirked.

"Ah yes. It's not often that a human pulls one over on us."

"I'm just that good," I winked.

"It's good to see you are doing better. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see any one of you all again. I have to thank you for that though. Peter and everyone told me how you took charge and trained them all. Thank you-" I cut him off.

"Jazz, you don't have to thank me," I told him as I looked down at his hands that were clasping mine.

"Now you hush, Darlin', and let me get this out," he said. "I do have to thank you, Bella. Not only for saving my life but all of our lives. We would have all been dead. If you hadn't done what you had, we would have never been reunited. Bella, you saved my life, as well as our family's. I can never thank you enough for that andI will never forget what you did for us out there. I have never seen anyone fight like you did. Peter told me that he said you could take my title from me and I must agree. You're a natural protector, Bella. I can't call you a fighter after what I saw. You are a protector just as the wolves are. Now, I am not sure what all is going on because Peter has been giddy since you saved us but won't let anyone in on the secret. I can only imagine that it has to be something large. Peter is never giddy," he chuckled and I laughed along with him. We both faintly heard a huff from downstairs but chose to ignore it. Petey could stew on his own for a while.

"I never thought that I'd see you again, Jazz," I said in a small voice.

A finger under my chin raised my face to meet his eyes. "I would never leave you, Bella. Not even crazed vampires can keep us apart," he said as he kissed my head. "Speaking of which, you have certainly become quite stunning through the change. I wasn't sure Edward would get to you fast enough but I had to do a double take when I saw you squaring up against Maria. I didn't even recognize you at first. You faced her up quite evenly. I have never seen anyone who could hold their own against her, not even me," he said with pride in his voice. I felt the shadow of blush on my skin, but knew that it would never appear again.

"I am glad that someone could take care of her," I admitted. "Ever since you told me of your past, I promised myself that she'd end and by my hands. Well, perhaps it wasn't by my hands but I am happy that she's been dealt with. She is gone, right?"

"Yes, Darlin', she'll never hurt anyone else," he told me as he hugged me lightly.

"Good, I hope that she rots in hell for all eternity. She deserves it if anyone ever has."

"I couldn't agree with you more myself," Jasper laughed and ruffled my hair.

There was a small silence until Jasper broke it. "Bells, what happened at the gas station? You don't have to tell me, I was just merely curious as to why you would be so adamant about refusing human blood."

I turned my gaze to the window in an effort to avoid Jasper's. "After I was changed, I didn't appear to have much of a bloodlust. I was very disciplined and level-headed. According to the others, this isn't normal behavior for a newborn," I began to explain.

"No, it's not," he agreed.

"I was acting as though I were older than a mere few days. So, I suppose we all put it in the back of our minds and concentrate on getting you out of there," I sighed heavily.

"We paired off and drove in separate vehicles. I was driving and Edward was in the passenger's seat. Everything was going fine until we pulled into a gas station in order to refuel. When Edward opened his door, my bloodlust decided to finally kick my ass. There was a young girl there, and she and her mother were just leaving. Before I even knew what was happening, my door was opened and I was crouched to pounce on her. It was like something snapped inside of me and it was like I wasn't in control of my own body. I had this voice whispering to me and trying to lure me into killing the child. She had the sweetest smell I could have ever imagined," I admitted with a shudder. "I ended up biting Edward and Em, but somehow they got me back under control."

He looked thoughtful for a moment. "So that is why you refuse the blood?"

I nodded, silently thanking him for understanding, "I don't want to feel that monster again. I know that it is bound to happen, but I don't want to do anything to cause it. If that means keeping me weak, then so be it."

He looked at me with a soft smile. "I can appreciate that, Bells." I smiled back at him.

We talked for a while more before I felt Edward's pull and knew he was close. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door before Edward opened it. He had a thermos in each hand and his eyes were a soft golden color. I smiled in appreciation. Jasper made to get up and give us privacy, but I wouldn't let go of his hand. I nodded at Edward as he handed out a thermos to each of us. Jasper looked at me questioningly before thanking Edward and sitting back down.

"Umm, yeah, Edward isn't the only one who can read minds. I can read his if he is projecting his thought to me directly. I suppose it was an enhancement from the change," I shrugged before I took a sip of the warm blood. I saw that Edward had already changed from his hunt so I patted the side of the bed. He took the hint and lay down beside me. I snuggled into him as much as possible and continued my meal. So, it wasn't like a hunt but I was thankful nonetheless.

Edward was nuzzling my neck and it somehow tickled. So, in an attempt, to get him to stop, I held the thermos out to him. He looked into my eyes and he took a swallow. I watched his tongue dart out and erase any evidence of his sip. His eyes were dark and I am sure mine were the same. Jazz just chuckled and left us to ourselves but not before tipping his thermos to us. Edward and I both laughed at being caught but continued as we were. I'd take a drink and he'd take a drink. The only thing more erotic was sharing an actual meal together.

There was a knock on the door and Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jazz, Rose, Em, Peter, Char, Seth, Sam, and Jacob entered. I overheard the rest leave for a hunt, so I wasn't aware of their whereabouts. Everyone took casual positions around my bed. Peter cleared his throat and I looked at him curiously. "Bells, I think it's time to tell you about what's been going on. So far, I haven't told anyone else and the only other one who knows is Carlisle," Peter looked at me nervously. I swallowed and nodded for him to continue. "Bella, I am sure that you noticed the difference after your change with your extra abilities. You have far more abilities than the average vampire," he began.

"Yes..." I drawled out, not knowing where he was going with this.

"Before I can explain it, I need to explain to you something," he said as he leaned against the wall and clutched his hands nervously. "In the ancient days there were beings who were created to watch over humans. They were created for the sole purpose of protecting humans from each other. Humans have always had violent tendencies towards one another and so they sometimes needed guidance or a form of safety. These beings were Guardian Angels. I am sure that you are more than familiar with the concept of Guardian Angels," he waited for my confirmation and continued. "This was their only job and they were content with it.

"However, one day, there was a being cast down for refusing to do what he was created for. This Cast Away decided to take revenge on the human race for his disgrace and falling from his high appointment. See, the Guardians were very strong and fast, so he needed a being that could compete with them easily. He created pure evil and let them loose on the Guardians. These new beings were fast, strong, and animalistic. They were able to destroy all but two of the Guardians. The remaining two went into hiding until they found a way to beat these new beings. They realized that the only way to destroy them was to become like them. The only difference was that these two retained their pure souls—their guiding light. This was what allowed them to fight off the Evil Ones.

"Unfortunately, there were too many to be eradicated by these two Guardians, so they created more. They were, however, more selective in their creations and only chose those humans who had pure souls as well. They were created to do what the Guardians had been. They were to protect the human race but also fight against the evil of their kind. This is how Warriors came into being. Bella, you are now a Warrior," Peter said.

"I'm a vampire," I stated dumbly.

He nodded, "Yes you are," he smirked. "Guardians were changed into vampires to be able to protect others from the evil of the first vampires."

"I don't have a pure soul," I scoffed and shook my head. I was too damaged to retain anything remarkably white within me.

Peter frowned and came to kneel to my side and took my hand. "Bells, it's _because_ of your past that you have been chosen. You went through hell but you didn't allow it to destroy you or influence you negatively. You have no idea how clean your soul actually is. Every bad thing you have been through has purified it."

I shook my head. "You must be mistaken," I said as I lowered my gaze. I felt fingers under my chin and raised it to see him peering into my eyes, searching for something.

"Well, there is one way to prove it to you," he said with a grin. I looked at him, confused, and he motioned for Edward to help me sit up. I did so, trying to hold in my grimace, but didn't succeed. "Sorry," Peter and Edward said simultaneously. I felt Peter's fingers rub over my shoulder and I heard Edward gasp. I turned to look at him and he grabbed a mirror from the stand beside my bed and positioned it so I could see what he saw. On my right shoulder there was a marking. It looked just like my Phoenix pendant but in just black and white. My eyes widened as I took in the sight of it. How did I get that?

"See?" Peter asked as he showed me a matching symbol on his own shoulder. I hadn't ever seen it before. "This phoenix symbol is what shows us for who we are."

I slowly sat back against the headboard as the questions flowed through my mind.

"Why?" I asked to no one in particular.

I was surprised when Carlisle spoke up instead of Peter. "When I was with the Volturi, there was rumored to be a Warrior that was captured by Aro. Zeke was tried for conspiracy to overthrow the Volturi. It was because of this ridiculous accusation that I actually left them. However, that is another story. Aro pulled from his mind a prophecy about a young Warrior that would be turned with the purest and strongest soul. She would lead a rally against the evil of our kind. The evil would fall at her hand, so understandably, this plagued Aro. He has always been very power hungry and tried to kill Zeke in hopes to stop the prophecy. Somehow Zeke escaped and hasn't been seen since."

"He was rescued by the other original Warrior, Sekhet," Peter explained with a smug grin.

"Wait, you think that I am this prophesized one?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes," both Peter and Carlisle answered at the same time.

This was too much to take in at once. Thankfully, Jazz felt my confusion and suggested that I get some rest and we could talk later. Everyone left except for Edward. He cuddled me while I was lost in thought.

I didn't know what to think of all this. Me, a Warrior? What did this all mean? It was with these thoughts that my body drifted off into the closest thing to sleep that I would ever get. It was one of the side effects of my wound, apparently.

I was startled out of my rest when I heard a crash from down the hall. Edward's voice drifted to my ears. "Damnit, Carlisle, this isn't fair! She has fought her entire life and she shouldn't be asked to risk her life again. She already nearly died for us. She's a vampire, Carlisle. How did that bitch even injure her this much? Vampires are supposed to heal quickly. She isn't healing at all. Her wound reopens with every move she makes!" Edward exclaimed.

Carlisle's voice was more subdued than Edward's but had a defensive edge to it. No matter how calm Carlisle is, he's still a vampire and has instincts that can't fully be denied. "Edward, I will tell you this once; do not treat me with such disrespect. I understand that you are worried about Bella, we all are, but she needs you and I will not tolerate you to upset her with your ranting and raving. Son, Bella will choose her own destiny, and we will not force anything on her, I can assure you that. Just… be there for her, Edward. She needs you to take care of her," Carlisle finished softly.

I hadn't realized how hard this was on Edward. He was upset because of me and it was entirely my fault. I may be his fiancé, but I couldn't deny that he would always deserve the best and right now, I felt damaged and even unworthy. As quietly as I could, I got up out of bed and quietly stumbled to my window. I dropped to the ground with an audible groan. I knew that I had promised Carlisle that I would rest but I had to get away for a few minutes. Everything was stifling me and I couldn't sort through it all.

The garden was as far as I got and I felt an intense pain as I slouched onto the ground. My hands covered my stomach and saw that my wound reopened. Great, now Carlisle will never leave me alone.

It wasn't long before Edward's voice broke into my reverie. "Bella!" Edward called to me as he ran to where I was sitting. He pulled me towards him and saw my stomach. "What in the world are you doing out here?" he asked as if I were crazy. I sighed. Perhaps I deserved that. I _was_ stupid to jump like that.

"I'm sorry," I apologized for everything. He must have gotten my double meaning because he held me just a little tighter and inhaled my scent to calm him.

"You heard me talking to Carlisle?" he asked. I nodded and he sighed before placing a kiss to my temple. "I'm the one that is sorry, love. I never should have lost my temper like that."

"You have every right, Edward," I pointed out. "This can't be easy on you."

He laughed humorlessly. "You _are_ kidding, right? Bella, you were nearly killed and you are worried about me? You are completely absurd." We both fell into a silence, not wanting to bring up each other's feeling.

Finally Edward cracked. "You know, what I said to Carlisle was true. It's not fair for you to be asked of this. You have already fought for _your_ life and ours too much. Bella, prophecy be damned, you are your own person and I don't want you to do what others want. I want you to do what you want for once. You tend to put everyone else before yourself and this time, I want you to put yourself first. Please," he mumbled into my hair.

"I don't really know what to think of all of this to be honest. I can't understand how Peter could believe those things because there is no way they are true," I said quietly.

"About your soul?" Edward asked softly. I nodded. "Bella, before you came along, I honestly believed that once we were changed, we forfeited our souls. Then one day, this beautiful woman comes into my life and renews my faith in our souls. You made me believe in the existence of them because there is no way that someone as beautiful as you could not have one. Not to mention that I see what Peter does. You do have a pure soul, Bella. You do," he assured me. His voice held such conviction that I couldn't help but begin to believe him.

* * *

**EPOV**

"Bella, I want to know... what happened when you were younger," I said to her softly. I saw her flinch from my question and hardness overtook her features as she laughed harshly. I knew that this was a dead spot for her and we had never talked about it before. Add in her newborn emotions and I could instantly see where I went wrong.

"You want to know?" She asked incredulously. "You want to know what it felt like as he tore my innocence from me on that cold, hard floor? As he violated me that way, it felt like he crawled into my body and ripped my soul into pieces. Do you know what it feels like to have your soul ripped apart, Edward?" she asked rhetorically but I shook my head anyways.

"It feels a thousand times worse than the fire of the change. It feels as if every inch of your being has been violated in the worst possible way. You die inside but you are not fortunate for that death to reach the outside. You are not granted reprieve from it, ever."

I could feel Bella's pain as if it were my own. I didn't know what to do in this situation but I felt as though she needed to get it out. "I'm sorry, Bella," I said in a pathetic attempt to show her that this never should have happened.

"No!" She growled and a blinding light enveloped us. It reminded me of the light that she threw out during the battle. Through the light, I could faintly see the ground as it grew smaller. Apparently she was lifting us up with it as well.

After what seemed like hours, ground met my feet once again. I looked around and recognized Bella's old bedroom. The one she had when she lived with her mother. I had never been here, but I recognized it from the minds of Jasper and Emmett.

I observed the room and my unneeded breath caught when I saw a younger Bella. Oh, she has always been so beautiful. She was sitting on her bed, reading. She was snuggled under her blankets and it seemed that she was enjoying her book. I looked over at my mate and saw her staring intently at her younger self as if she were apologizing for something.

Just as I was about to ask Bella why, or even how, she brought us here, the door to the room broke open to reveal a younger and human version of the bastard that I killed. Even as a human, you could tell that her step-father was evil. He sneered at child-Bella and walked over to her as if she were his prey. He ripped off her blanket and grabbed her by her arm. He dragged her out of bed and since she had a bad leg, she fell to the floor when he released her.

He spotted her forgotten book and smirked at her. "Why would you be reading? You are stupid and will never amount to _anything_," he told her. She tried to crawl away from him but he cornered her against the wall. "You know what girls like you are only good for?" he asked her rhetorically. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing besides spreading your legs," he sneered.

I made a move to stop him but was held back by Bella. I looked at her questioningly and she just nodded to her younger self. "You asked for it, now watch it," she said softly as she continued to watch her younger self.

I turned my attention back to them but only because Bella told me to watch. And I did. I continued to watch him tear away her innocence. A child enduring the evil of this man is not something I would wish on even my enemies. Fury unlike anything I have ever known built in me when Bella told her mother what happened and her mother just laughed and said to her, "Oh honey, you must be mistaken." Now, I can see why Bella was so broken.

Then the scene moved on to a few years later. Again, Bella was in bed, but she was doing her homework. As like before, her step-father came busting into her room. He was obviously drunk and tried to take advantage of her again. My pride for my mate grew when I watched her former self hit her step-father with a punch that threw him back a few steps. Unfortunately, she couldn't get away from him and he took what he wanted from her but left her broken and bleeding. He kicked her hard enough to break ribs and cause some damage to her mouth. He left her in a heap on the floor.

"Now," Bella began as she turned to me with tears made of venom falling down her cheeks, "do you see why I am the way I am? Edward, if there was a chance, even the slightest of one, that I could do something to protect others from _this_, do you understand why I would do everything in my power that I could?" she asked softly, as if afraid of the answer. She showed me her most private and devastating moments. At first, words escaped me and I pulled her into a hug. She clung to me for dear life.

"Bella," I choked, "I am so sorry. I wish I could have stopped all of this from happening. But yes, I understand, love. I want to help you any way that I can." I held her until she calmed down. There was a brilliant light once more and a few moments later, we were once again in our backyard. I pulled her down to the ground and we just hung onto each other for support, understanding, and most of all, love.

* * *

**A/N: Thoughts? Please let me know what flittered into your mind as you read the chapter. If you do, I will give you a preview once I have it written ;)**

****** I want to apologize if the subject matter of this chapter was offensive to anyone or if it unsettled anyone. That was never my intention. Abuse like this happens every day to all types of people. The more awareness of it there is, the better the chances are that there will be someone to help another person in such a situation. **_**Never**_** let fear keep you from speaking up and **_**never**_** push someone away that has spoken up. Support each other because there may not be another chance. **


	10. The Return Of The Used

***** A/N: I know that it's been a very long time since I have posted but I moved across country and I haven't been able to have internet for quite some time. I have recently been getting back to writing this story so I am truly sorry for disappearing like that. **

***** As a token of my gratitude for all those who still want to read this, anyone who reviews this chapter will get an answer to one question they ask via the review. Whether it be about the mechanics of the story, future events…etc; ask away!**

***** Also I currently have no beta so please forgive my mistakes until I get another!**

***** Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. All rights go to Miss S.M**

***** Please read and review! **

* * *

**BPOV**

"This may be the only way to heal you, Bella," Carlisle said to me as he pled with his eyes for my understanding.

"Absolutely not," I said with a small, but firm voice. "There is nothing worth risking Edward over. Not even this. I'd rather die than be that selfish."

Carlisle sighed and approached me. He sat on the bed and grabbed my hand in a fatherly gesture. "Bella, I will be completely honest with you. Nothing we have done is helping you to heal. The increased blood consumption and the decreased activity haven't had the desired effect that we were hoping for. I have never encountered a wound created by true werewolf teeth and at this point, I am at a loss for other treatment ideas. This is the last thing I can think of that may help."

"Bella, I have seen an outcome. Everyone will be fine," said Alice.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow. I knew she was sugar coating the outcome in an effort to persuade me. "You have seen _for sure_ that everything will turn out okay?" I asked knowing of the subjectivity of her visions.

"Well…" she began but I cut her off.

"Well, nothing, Alice. We all know that your visions can change. Did you see how this would affect me physically? Does it work?" I asked skeptically.

She sighed and shook her head, "I don't know if it will work or not. I can't see the full outcome."

"Then what _do _you see?" I asked.

She avoided my gaze as she admitted the two futures she saw. One was that the venom healed me and I was back to my normal self in a week. The other outcome was fuzzy and she couldn't get a grip on it. The second outcome was what made me shake my head. A fuzzy future was never good and I didn't want to take a chance that it meant something would go wrong.

"Could you please give us a few moments alone?" a velvety voice interrupted out conversation. I looked up to see Edward leaning casually against the door frame. Alice and Carlisle nodded before they each gave me a pleading look and left.

Edward came and sat beside me on the bed. He held my hand in his and kissed the back of my hand before he turned his focus to me. "Love, why won't you try what Alice and Carlisle want you to?"

"Because," I sighed, "Alice can't see a certain outcome with it. One outcome is fuzzy and I don't want to risk something bad happening," I confided with my eyes on the bedspread.

I felt a finger under my chin. Edward raised my face so that I had to look into his eyes. In them I found tenderness, care, and pure love. "My sweet Bella. Do you remember when we had the altercation with the wolves?" he asked rhetorically, but I nodded my head anyways. "You saved me, Bella. Without your blood, I wouldn't have healed like I did. Why won't you allow us to see if my venom will help you?"

"Because, Edward, I don't want to take the chance of something happening," I reiterated quietly.

"Nothing will happen, Love. I promise you that."

"How can you promise me something like that?" I huffed doubtfully.

"Because, love, I will not allow anything bad to happen. If you are worried about your control, I won't let you lose control, Bella. If you are worried about being vulnerable during it, I will make sure we are protected. Bella, nothing bad will happen because you and I can handle anything if we face it together," Edward assured me as he pressed a chaste kiss to my lips.

I was quiet for a few moments while I thought about it. Edward and I have overcome a lot together and we could handle anything that life throws at us as long as we do it together. I sighed, knowing that Edward would keep his word and nodded my head. "Fine, I will try it but I am holding you to your word, Edward. I know that you would never let me do something that I will regret and I trust you. But you have to promise me that, even if it requires physical force, you will stop me if I lose control. Clear?"

"Crystal," he smiled my favorite crooked smile before he kissed my lips again but with a little passion. I was about to get lost in the kiss, but Edward pulled away from me. He kissed my lips once they pouted, and said, "don't worry, Love, there will be plenty of time for that later," he told me in a husky voice. I nodded, unable to speak, and kissed his lips once more. I would hold him to that as well.

"Carlisle," Edward said in a normal voice. Two seconds later there was a knock at the door. Carlisle stepped into our room and closed the door behind him.

"Yes, son?" He asked even though he already knew the answer. Privacy was non-existent in a house full of vampires. The illusion of privacy was all we were granted.

"Bella and I would like to know what all this plan entails. How will we get it to work?" Edward squeezed my hand in reassurance that this was the right thing to do.

"Well, what needs to be done is to get your venom into Bella's body. Had Bella and you been human, we would do it through a transfusion. However, since this isn't the case, that will not work. For one, the needle wouldn't puncture the skin and if we did puncture it with our teeth, the hole would heal back over and break the tubing. Also, the venom would eat through the tubing and holding container. Since this is a unique case, the only way to get enough venom from your body, Edward, to Bella's body is through the same way that you transformed her into a vampire. You will need to bite her in order to transfer your venom into her. You can also try to have her drink your venom, but I am not sure how well that would taste," Carlisle explained.

"How much venom will I need to receive?" I asked.

"I am not sure, to be honest. Venom is so much different than blood and with the healing properties of our venom there is no way to measure how much your body will need in order to heal. It will probably take a few days of transfusions in order to get enough venom into your system. We don't want to put too much venom into your system all at once because we have no idea as to how the venom will react to the werewolf remnants left from the wound. Werewolves excrete venom through their saliva, similar to that of vampires. So, I am fairly sure that the knife had that venom on it. I am hoping that since Edward's venom already runs through your veins, that there will not be a negative reaction to introducing more of said venom into your body."

Scenarios of something bad happening kept running through my mind. Thankfully, Alice saved me from those thoughts as she popped her spiky head into the room. "Don't worry, Bella. Jasper and I will be right downstairs. He will keep both of you calm and relaxed while I keep a watch on the future to ensure that nothing bad happens. The rest of the family will be going hunting so that you both can have some 'privacy' for this. Don't worry sis, we won't let anything happen."

"Thank you," I told her and Carlisle before them both exited the room.

Edward pulled his shirt off before he lay down on the bed beside me. "Don't worry my lovely Bella," Edward said before he placed a kiss on my lips. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Without question," I answered honestly.

"Then please trust me in this. We'll take care of each other just as we always do." Edward smiled at me before he got us situated into a comfortable position with my back against his chest. I smiled as I realized how true his words were. We could conquer anything if we did it side by side- hand in hand.

"I trust you," I told him as I raised his hand up to kiss it. I took a deep breath and decided to break the ice on the current issue. "So how will we do this?"

"You'll drink my venom," Edward said. I started to protest but was interrupted by Edward, "Yes you will, Bella. I will not bite you repeatedly if you can just drink my venom. If this doesn't work then we will resort to the injection through various bites. Let's just try this first, okay?"

"Okay," I reluctantly agreed.

Edward kissed my head before lifting his wrist up to me. I looked at him questioningly, but he just nodded to his wrist. I realized that he wanted me to make the bite so I did it as quickly as I could. I hated to hurt him, as I knew this would hurt, but unfortunately it's either our teeth or we call up the pack.

I heard Edward's sharp hiss as my teeth penetrated his skin and I tried to keep my venom out of his system so he wouldn't feel any extra pain because of this exchange. He was willing to endure this pain for me, so I would do what I could to make it easier on him.

The venom introduced into my system wasn't what I was expecting. It stung as it initially entered my mouth, but the stinging turned into ambrosia. Whereas the venom killed my human self, this time it felt as if the venom was giving my vampire body life. I am not sure why, because during the battle, the vampire venom stung as it entered my system through the bites that I received.

Mouthful after mouthful, I swallowed the amazing liquid that Edward freely gave to me. I could only imagine that this is what my blood tasted like to Edward while I was human. I couldn't imagine sweeter nectar in the entire world. I moaned at the taste flowing down my throat.

As I drank from the flowing stream of honey and sunshine, I imagined lying beside my love in our meadow. It was not a memory, but an image that my mind related to the bliss that was Edward's venom.

I felt a warm hand resting on my face. A soft voice pulled me from my venom-induced haze, "Bella, my sweet Bella. That is enough for today." It took a second to register whose voice it was, and it was my Edward. I took one final pull of ambrosia and detached my mouth from his wrist. I looked into his soft eyes and locked onto those eyes while I sealed the wound with my own venom. He made a slight hiss as my venom mixed with his. It wasn't painful hiss, but a pleasurable hiss. His eyes darkened as he looked down at me. He smiled my favorite crooked smile but his eyes were pitch-black from lust.

"That was…" I tried to think of the right word but I failed. Instead I lamely finished with, "…wow".

He chuckled at this and nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. Although, I couldn't imagine that venom would taste anywhere as heavenly as your blood, love."

"I wouldn't say that," I smirked, "nothing could taste better than that, baby. Not even blood."

His eyes widened for a moment before overflowing love filled his lustful gaze. "We were made for each other. Perfect fit. Perfect match," he said as he tenderly kissed my lips.

We kissed for a long moment. Once we broke apart, I asked him, "was it very painful?" I bit my bottom lip in worry of his answer. I was afraid that it hurt him. If it did, then I wouldn't agree to do this again.

"To be honest, the initial bite was uncomfortable at first, but once you started feeding, it was a very sensual feeling, love," he assured me.

"I am sorry that it was uncomfortable, we won't do it anymore," I rushed.

"Wait, Bella… Yes it was a little uncomfortable at first, but the feeling afterwards was amazing. I would gladly take the uncomfortable feeling if it meant I got to feel you feeding from me again. Normally, this would hurt a lot, since vampires are not meant to have another feed from them, but this was… indescribable. I don't know why it's different for us, but I certainly do love it as well as loving you, my little love. How was it for you though, Bella? It must have stung."

I shook my head, "oddly, no, it didn't. Well, it initially stung, but after a few seconds, it went away. Then it felt like I was drinking something from Heaven. It was ambrosia in its purest form. It was unlike anything else I have ever consumed before."

"Hmm, odd, to say the least. However, I am very glad that we both enjoy the experience. I am not sure why we do, but I am glad for it nonetheless. How do you feel though?" he asked me.

I pulled my shirt up and looked at my wound. It was already healing! "Look, Edward, it's healed some!" I exclaimed in happiness.

He looked at the wound and back up me with widened eyes. "Damn. That is amazing!" he said as he placed a soft kiss above the wound. It had already healed around the outer edges of the wound. Surely, it will take more than just once consuming venom to heal it, but now we had proof that the introduced venom was what would heal it.

"Carlisle!" Edward called out happily. I pulled my shirt down some, to make me decent for him to enter, just as Carlisle knocked on the door. We called him into the room and pointed to my stomach with matching smiles on both of us. Carlisle came over to the bed. A huge grin spread across his face as he took in the sight of my _healing_ wound.

"Remarkable," he said as he looked to both of us with a mixture of hope and relief mixed in his eyes. "How much did you consume, Bella?" he asked in full doctor mode.

"I am not sure," I said sheepishly.

"She drank about a pint," Edward said with pride.

A whole pint? I hadn't realized I had drank that much. Next time I would have to take less. I don't want it to affect Edward at all.

"Not a chance," Edward said as he gazed down at me. _Stupid mind reading vampire reading a future-seer's mind._ I huffed in thought to him. He must have seen the decision I made to take less in Alice's mind. Edward chuckled as he kissed the top of my head.

As normal, Carlisle ignored the side commentary that was someone else's conversation and looked at me with happiness shining in his eyes. "This is great news, Bella. I wasn't sure if this would work or not, but knowing that it is indeed helping, we will continue this. How was the process for you?"

"It was… amazing," I would be blushing crimson if I were still human. "It didn't sting as expected and actually tasted quite remarkable," I admitted.

"Hmmm," Carlisle said as he looked deep in concentration. After a few moments he looked up at me, "I suppose that could be because you already have had Edward's venom flowing through your body since you were human. Not only from the transformation, but also from your relationship beforehand," again I would be blushing if it were possible.

Carlisle started to pace some. "When humans have a vaccination, generally they develop immunity to it simply because their body learns to recognize it. Perhaps your body has done the same thing with Edward's venom. Perhaps it has learned to recognize it. That along with your emotional connection to one another, Twin Flames, it has somehow told your body that his venom is not harmful to you and is instead its ally. When you were human, his venom certainly enhanced your natural abilities, so I am going to speculate that your body as learned that his venom is good for you."

He stopped pacing and looked at us both with intrigue. "Would it be alright if I document the further healing of your wound?"

I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "document how?" I asked warily.

"Nothing invasive or immodest, I assure you. I would just like to take pictures and document your healing. This way we can know exactly how to handle this situation and try to determine if it would work on others in this condition, though I don't think many vampires are in your condition, little one, or if it is simply both of your connections that make it work," Carlisle explained.

I looked at Edward and he nodded his approval. I looked back at Carlisle and said, "that would be fine, Carlisle." I smiled at his childish grin. He made it seem as if I had given him a very precious gift. I suppose that new knowledge _is_ precious to Carlisle, though.

"How often will you have Bella feed from you?" Carlisle asked Edward.

Edward looked at me then back at Carlisle. "I was thinking that Bella could consume a pint every three days along with a quarter of a pint every day that she doesn't feed from me. That way, my body will have enough time to replenish the venom, while allowing Bella to consume some every day in order to heal."

That seemed like an awful lot of venom for Edward to give up, but I trusted his judgment. While nodding my head, I said to Edward, "Okay, we will do this together. However, if at any time it becomes a danger to you, I hold the right to refuse your venom. Deal?"

He got a contemplative look on his face before responding, "Alright, you can refuse any further venom treatments, _if_, someone else agrees with you that it has become a danger to me." He smirked, "deal?"

Oh he was good with words. I nodded with a stubbornness that amplified in the changed, "fair enough."

* * *

**EPOV**

Since our little experiment with my venom, Bella has fed from me a total of seven times. Each time has been an incredible experience in itself. Each one is different than the last. Away from the experience, the venom has greatly improved Bella's health. She is not back to her old self yet, but she is surely on her way. The venom has closed her wound and now she can move without it tearing open. The wound still hurts as much as it did before she started receiving venom, but she tries her best to hide it so we wouldn't worry about her. Unfortunately, human pain-relieving medications do not work on us.

In an effort to make sure she isn't smothered by us, we do things for her without it being so obvious. I shower with her because it still hurts for her to move around. Jasper hunts for her and brings back two thermoses. While they drink the blood, they use that time to catch up.

Also, Carlisle takes Bella for a short walk every day. He tells her that the exercise will do her good even though he does it simply to test her progression without being too nosy. He realizes that the venom bond that Bella and I share and have been sharing is a very personal thing for both of us. The daily walks and their talks is how Carlisle has been getting the information to document Bella's case with.

Each person of the family does something for Bella. Of course she knows that we are doing it to help her out, but she allows it as long as we don't make a big deal out of it. Bella has always been stubborn when it comes to independence, but we try our best to allow her that independence.

I heard Bella trying to sneak up behind me, but pretended to be oblivious to her attempt. She still hasn't regained her soundless approaches, but it getting better with them.

"Boo," she whispers into my ear. I turn around, holding my hand to my non-beating heart.

"You scared me!" I feigned shock.

She rolled her eyes as she tried to suppress the smirk that was threatening to break free. "You're a terrible actor."

"Shoot, that was my fall-back plan," I pouted.

"Like _you_ really need a fall-back plan. Beside "talent" in the dictionary is a one word definition, "Edward."

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me. Leaning my head down, I kissed her lips. "So, what has you all happy today, love?" I asked as I pulled back.

"Well if you _must_ know, I just spoke with Carlisle. He has agreed that my healing has been going so well that I am free to _try_ hunting once again. He said that you must accompany me, and that I am not allowed to do any acrobatics, but I can see how hunting goes. If it goes well, then I can hunt every other day until I am back to normal. If, however, it doesn't go well, then I will be stuck on the thermoses that Jasper ever so conveniently brings back each day," she rolled her eyes. "So, my handsome hunk, what do you say to accompanying me on a hunt?"

I didn't have to think about my response as I picked her up bridal and ran from our room. I yelled a 'thank you' to Carlisle as I passed. His chuckle reached my ears as I reached the front door. Hunting is one thing that I have always found pleasure in when sharing the experience with Bella. This not only allows us some private time, something we haven't really had since she was injured, but also shows that my love is improving remarkably. Knowing that it's _my_ venom that is healing her… it's something that brings me great pride and joy.

I raced through the forest until we caught the scent of some deer. I was weary when considering the possibility that this could regress her progress, but I was excited to see her hunt once again. It's a very sensual experience that I have missed. I set Bella down and kissed her head as I stepped back. I didn't want her instincts to assume that I was trying to steal her kill. She looked at me with a smirk before she took off after the deer.

The way she moved didn't even hint that she was injured. The grace that she exuded was almost as perfect as it was before the battle. Bella took down the large buck with ease and the self-pride was nearly breaking her face in half. As I watched her feed from her kill, I could feel desire rising in my body. I have tried my best to stave it off since she's been healing, but to see her vampiric nature once again, made it impossible to control the desires.

Once she was finished bleeding the buck dry, she stood up and brushed the dirt from her clothes. She has learned to feed cleanly, but there was a single drop on her chin that she didn't realize. I stalked toward her, my own vampiric nature coming out, as if she were my next meal. I could see how blackened her eyes were as I reached her. I stood flush with her body as I leaned down to lick the blood from her chin. I closed my eyes as I savored the taste of blood mixed with the natural taste of her. A soft moan escaped me.

"You missed a spot," I smirked.

"How kind of you to fix that," she returned the smirk.

"I'm just disappointed that it was only your chin that held the spot," I said in mock-disappointment.

"Perhaps we will have to fix _that_," she said.

I leaned in to kiss her just as a twig snapped behind us. I whirled around, pushing Bella behind my back. The person in front of us was one I thought I'd never see again. Instantly rage bubbled up inside of me. I could feel Bella tilting her head to the side in confusion. I am sure she didn't quite understand the situation.

"I'm sorry. I honestly didn't mean to startle anyone," a soft voice said.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed. I instantly knew who was standing before us. She did change quite a bit since we last saw her. I was insanely curious to know what happened, but the hate that I had for this woman was winning against my curiosity at the moment.

"I… well to be honest, I felt as though I needed to come. I needed to apologize and try to set things right. I have been trying to find the right moment to confront the both of you, but I didn't know how you would react, so I waited. I've been watching your family for weeks, hoping to find an opportunity."

"You have been spying on us… how come we didn't know?" I asked with my dislike apparent in my voice.

"I don't know," she shrugged.

"What makes you think she would want to see you?" I hissed. I could feel Bella trembling behind me and it made my hate for this woman grow stronger.

"Because despite what happened in the past, and how much I know she must hate me, I felt that at the very least, I needed to apologize to her and beg her to forgive me. I doubt she could forgive me, but she has the right to know what happened and why. She deserved to know how truly sorry I am for everything," she said in a shaky voice. Had she been human, I am sure she would be in tears or very close to the verge of it.

"Renee…" Bella's voice trailed off from behind me. Her voice held a mixture of surprise, fear, and hate.

Renee casted her eyes downwards as she nodded her head. Bella stepped from behind my back as she looked closely at her mother. Last time that Bella saw her, they were both human. Now they were both vampires. I could nearly feel Bella's disbelief at seeing the new Renee.

Before I had even registered Bella's movement, she jumped at Renee and pushed her into the ground. Her hiss was the most animalistic sound that I have ever heard out of Bella. I could hear Renee's hiss as Bella clawed at her face. I knew that Bella could kill her mother in the span of a second and I didn't know how that would mentally affect her. Reluctantly, I pulled Bella off of her mother, but not before Bella cracked Renee's face open with a well-delivered slap.

"Love, you have every right to end her right now, but I think that you should hear her out first or you will regret never doing it. I promise that after you hear her out, if you decide to do something, I will not interfere," I told her as I gently pulled her up to let her know that it was her decision to do so or to fight.

After a moment's hesitation, Bella stood up with a hiss at her mother. Bella stepped back to my side and held my hand. I could feel the tension that was coursing through her.

"Talk," Bella spat out.

Renee casted her eyes downwards. Her mind showed that she realized that she deserved everything that Bella would likely do to her and that she accepted her fate lay in her daughter's hands.

"Bella, I know that you have been wronged by me, in more ways than just one. We used to be very close when you were little and then it all changed when Phil came into our lives. I don't know what it was about him, but something pulled me in and made me loyal to him. It was as if my loyalty to you was cut off when he and I got together. I know that sounds absurd and as I am trying to make excuses, but I swear to you, I am not. You have no reason to believe me and I don't fault you for that. After what I and he put you through, you deserve to deal with me however you wish," Renee stopped as she began to tearlessly sob.

Renee's mind was replaying every bad thing that happened to her daughter that was her fault. There was a long list with very gruesome images. I tightly shut my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose in an attempt to stop the images even though that obvious won't work for a mind reader.

"Why? Why did you let him do what he did to me?" my love asked in a seething voice.

"Because when I got involved with him, it was as if my full loyalty was with him alone. When you came to me, I knew what you were saying was true but I could not physically admit it. It was as if I wasn't in control of my response. Bella, please, I am telling you the truth."

Bella snorted and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that explains it all. How did I ever overlook _that_ reason for why you turned your back on me when I had nobody else? For when you had proof of me being constantly raped and tortured. How could I not see this reason?"

"Bella…" I began. I didn't want her to think that I was siding with Renee, because I would sooner die than to side with her over Bella.

"Yes, babe?" Bella's voice was softer than it was moments before. I knew that she was trying to keep her temper from lashing out at me, and I admired her restraint.

"Before I killed him, I got a good look into his mind. After his transformation, he was able to bind people's loyalties and connections. He was able to sway them. This is like Chelsea's of the Volturi. She can do the same," I explained in a softened voice. I was hoping that it would keep her calmer during this exchange.

"And every gift is an amplification of a human trait," she sighed aloud. She turned to her mother and the penetrating hate and anger had died down a small amount. "You were probably unknowingly allied to him. I doubt that he had any clue as to what he was capable of." She turned toward me and asked, "Why wasn't I compelled to him then?"

I wrapped my arms around her as I kissed her head. "Love, you are one of the most powerful shields any of us have ever seen or heard of. Even when you were human, Eleazar said that you were magnificently gifted. I am assuming that your shield, around that bastard James, is what saved you. You subconsciously did it, but your shield protected you."

Bella leaned into my embrace as she leveled her gaze at her mother. "Then perhaps not all of your actions were your fault. However, that doesn't change the pain that I carry or what I went through for _years_. I have been working on getting passed what I went through and how it affected me, but I will never fully recover from it. I can't deny that you were apparently influenced, but that doesn't change things. I don't know if I will ever be able to forgive or trust you."

Renee nodded her head sadly. "You are a remarkable and strong young woman, Bella. You have changed so much since I last saw you. I doubt it means anything, but I truly am proud of you."

I felt the cringe that went through Bella as a result of Renee's words. I didn't know if they would ever get passed what occurred, but for Bella's sake, I hope they found a way. I knew that she still cared for her mother, no matter how Bella may say otherwise. The love for a mother never truly goes away. I tried to save Bella the worry of how to respond to that with saying, "who turned you?"

I saw rage pass over Renee's face before she slipped into a calm mask. "Phil… or should I say, "James". He changed me on accident."

"What happened?" I asked.

"He disappeared. Well I am sure you remember the Hospital incident…" she trailed off as regret plastered itself to her being. You could physically see how much she regretted the way she acted.

I nodded for her to continue. As she opened her mouth, Bella hissed out a single word before she collapsed against me, "shit".

I caught her before she fell. I lowered us to the ground and saw the stain on her shirt. I lifted her shirt up, and sure enough, her wound had reopened.

"What's wrong with her?" Renee asked frantically, as she thankfully kept her distance.

Without looking up at Renee, I answered, "She was injured in a battle."

"Is that how she became like this?" Renee asked.

I laughed humorlessly. "No, that was your boy toy. He kidnapped, tortured, abused, and mutilated her. The only way to save her was for me to turn her."

Her hiss went unnoticed as I was already dialing my phone. After the second ring, he picked up. "Jasper, its Bella. Her wound reopened."

"I'm on my way. Want me to bring Carlisle?" he asked.

"Yes. Tell him to bring some new bandages as well."

"On our way," he said as he hung up.

"Don't worry, love. They are on their way," I told her as I stroked the hair from her face. I could see that she was in pain.

"I'm fine," she said as she tried to sit up, but fell back down with a grimace.

I laughed at her attempt. "Sure you are, my love," I teased her. I grinned at the small smile that came through. It wasn't more than a few minutes before Carlisle, Jasper, and the rest of the family showed up. Renee's surprise and fear was tangible as she took in the sight of Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, Peter, and Charlotte. Carlisle and Jasper rushed to our side as the rest took defensive positions in front of us. They crouched and readied for an attack against Renee.

Of course they wouldn't know who she was so I stepped in before anything happened. "It's alright. She's not a threat." I said and as Renee looked relieved, I added, "yet", with a smirk. I didn't want Renee to think that she was safe because if Bella asked any of us to finish her off, we would without regret. It's the least that this woman deserves.

"Who is the broad?" Em asked. His arms were crossed over his chest and he purposefully flexed his massive muscles to intimidate Renee. It had its desired result as she took a step back and lowered her eyes in submission.

I looked at Bella for permission and she nodded. "This is Bella's _'mother'_," I emphasized the word 'mother' with a sneer.

Everyone immediately caught on and growled at her. It was Bella's soft, "just leave it for now," that stopped their pouncing on Renee. They were still ready for a fight if Renee stepped even one inch out of place.

Carlisle was checking Bella's wound and was now cleaning the excess venom from it. It was mixed with the blood from our hunt. "Sweetheart, what happened?"

"I guess it happened when I jumped on _her_. I was fine when I was hunting. I didn't reinjure myself and it wasn't painful. I suppose since her body is harder than an animal's, the impact was harder as well," she shrugged adorably.

Carlisle nodded. "Probably. Does it hurt?"

"Yeah. It feels like it's on fire and like something is pulling my insides apart," she winced.

Carlisle motioned for Emmett to join us. "Bella, hon, we are going to get you back to the house. I'll have Emmett carry you. Once we get you back, we can see what we can do to make you feel better, okay?" At Bella's nod, Emmett gently picked her up and started walking slowly so he wouldn't jostle her too much.

We started after her until Peter stopped me. "What do we do with her?" he asked nodding behind us.

Without looking at Renee, I said, "escort her back to the house. Make sure she doesn't leave your sight until Bella decides what to do with her." He nodded and grabbed Renee's arm as he tugged her along with him.

When we reached the house, Emmett carried Bella up to our room and laid her gently on the bed. Carlisle immediately went to her side and began examining her. Everyone crowded in the room. I could see the worry in Renee's mind and _almost_ felt sympathy for her, but then remembered the incident at the hospital and felt nothing but hate for her. Compulsion or not, I couldn't begin to feel for her.

"How bad?" Bella's voice brought me out of my reverie.

"Well…" Carlisle began and his mind was cringing but he kept a perfect façade. "The wound reopened again. I would say that your progress has been bumped back. The skin has torn through your wound. You and Edward will have to restart the venom transfer that you started with; a pint every three days along with a quarter of a pint every day that you don't feed from Edward."

"_Feed_?" Renee's interrupted.

"_Yes_, _feed_ _Mother. _Do you have a problem with that? It's _your_ presence that caused this!" Bella spat. "I was almost healed."

"No problem. I'm sorry for interrupting," Renee's said wisely.

"Like I was saying," annoyance could be heard in Carlisle's voice. Everyone in the family hated Renee', but Carlisle was too polite than to tell a lady off. "You will need to go back to your old feeding schedule. It is an unfortunate setback but you will get better, sweetheart. Patience and progress go hand in hand," he said with a smile and kiss to Bella's forehead.

I leaned over and gave Bella a chaste kiss. "Baby, we'll get you healed."

"Yeah, we'll just make sure there are no more _surprises_" Emmett said while glaring at Renee'. We all saw her cringe at Emmett's massive size and presence and everyone's mind registered pleasure in Renee's cringe.

"Alright, everyone let's give Edward and Bella some time alone. This has been an… unusual day," Esme said in her motherly tone. Her mind was filled with two opposing emotions: her love for Bella and her utter hate for Renee'. She knew the gist of what occurred with Bella. Even with only part of the facts, she still found just reason to hate Renee' as much as one would hate evil. That is what she saw her as, evil.

Everyone left the room. Renee' hesitated before she left the room. Her mind showed indecision in whether or not she should leave Bella, but luckily made the right choice in leaving.

* * *

**Bella POV**

I'm not even sure what to think about _her_ coming back. I get that she was under a type of compulsion, but that still doesn't change how I feel about her; about how she stood by while I was violated and abused; while I was ripped apart.

Seeing her… it just brought back so many bad memories. They ran through my mind a mile a minute. Every time she stood by and didn't acknowledge what was going on. Every time that I told her what was going on and she just laughed or told me that I was imagining things.

Even though I reopened my wounds, it was very worth it to see her shock that I actually attacked her.

"Love, what are you thinking?" Edward asked. I had closed my mind off to him when Renee showed up. The shock of seeing her there, as a vampire, snapped my shield back in place.

I turned my head, as to not hurt myself, and saw my beautiful Edward lying beside me. He looked worried but he was still perfection. I mentally shook myself and told him, "I was just thinking about the shock I got from seeing Renee'," I said somewhat evasively.

"Ah, so that is why your shield closed down to me," he said with a smirk. Of course my Edward would figure it out. "Will you please open it to me now?"

How could I every deny him? I opened up my mind to him even though I was weary of what he would see. I heard an intake of air and looked at him apprehensively.

"Oh, my sweet girl. None of this should have ever happened to you. I love you so much and the family is only second to my affections for you. We won't ever be able to take away those memories, but we will make the hell you went through worth it. Remember what Peter said? Every person who is chosen to be a Warrior must go through their own type of hell and survive it," Edward said.

"Well Sweet Cheeks, you've been there and done that, so let's get you better and get you back to kickin' some massive ass!"

"_Seth!_" we all burst out laughing. I wasn't even sure when the pack got here, but they were all in my room now. I suppose that I was too focused on Edward to let their presence register.

The rest of the Cullens filled the room as well. "Where's… you know… _her_?"

Jazz stepped forward and answered, "She's waiting downstairs in the living room. It was simply _expressed_ that her presence up here was off-limits."

"Good. I don't want to deal with any of this now. I'm exhausted, even though I shouldn't be. Jazz, could you stay and put me into some comfortable apathetic state for a few hours?"

"Whatever you want Bells. You've had a rough day," Jasper agreed.

"Thanks," I gave him a smile before I started relaxing.

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*** **A/N: Please let me know what you thought! ****Be brutally honest, please! I know this isn't one of my best chapters, by a long shot, but I am trying to get back into the swing of things.  
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	11. Under My Shield

***** A/N: Here is another new chapter. I was considering if I should wait to put it up or do it now. I decided that you all have been patient enough. For those who still review the previous chapter, I will answer your questions **

***** Disclaimer: I do not own anything that is not from my own imagination. All proper rights belong to Miss Meyer. **

***** Please read and review. Please also feel free to give me suggestions on what you would like to see in the story! I may just put your ideas in :) ENJOY! **

* * *

**BPOV**

"She really wants to try our diet?" I asked incredulously.

"She doesn't want to kill humans to feed," Edward said as he continued his path up and down my back. Up, down, up, down. It was very soothing. Had I been human, I am sure I would be asleep from the tranquility which his touch brought me.

"Imagine that… losing her humanity made her gain some. Poetic, don't you think?"

"Bella, you have every right to feel the way you do. I don't see how you have kept your hands to yourself-"

"She made me bed-ridden," I interrupted.

Edward chuckled, "true."

I sighed. "I honestly don't know what I should do. My mind tells me that she can't be held fully accountable for her actions while my heart tells me that she hurt me. I guess I should probably hear her out, yeah?" I asked.

"If that is what you want, love. We will all stand behind your decision and not interfere," Edward reassured me. I knew that he would keep his word and that what he said was true. If I decided to decapitate Renee', not even Carlisle would stand in my way.

"Yeah, I guess," I shrugged. "Help me get dressed please?"

He nodded and went to the closest and grabbed a pair of cotton shorts and one of his black tees. He knew that being surrounded by his scent helped to calm me down and I loved him that much more for the small gesture.

He helped me get dressed and then lifted me carefully out of bed. I was back to be toted around like a child, but being toted by Edward was kind of sexy. He stepped with such easy strides that I didn't even feel them. Thankfully I didn't because I was already hurting. Unfortunately for vampires, pain medications don't work.

He carried me to the couch and laid me down gently. He propped me up with pillows until I was comfortable and the pain reduced somewhat. "Thank you, baby," I told him. He smiled at me and sat down at my feet before lifting them onto his lap. His touch calmed my nerves a lot and I was extremely thankful that he was here to be by my side.

Since there is no privacy in a house full of vampires, everyone knew that I was waiting for them to meet me in the living room. Soon everyone had gathered around me in silent support. I noticed the moment that Peter entered with Renee' because all heads turned toward her. She flinched at the hostile glares but kept her gaze lowered in submission. She realized that she screwed up and was willing to take her punishment without question.

Once she sat down opposite us, everyone looked at me expectantly. I took a deep breath, tried not to wince at the pain it caused, and spoke up to her for the first time in years. The anticipation of me telling her how I truly felt gave me an odd feeling of satisfaction.

"Once upon a time there was a girl. This girl never purposefully did anything against anyone. She never lied, she never stole, and she never wished harm on anyone. Then one day, this girl gets hurt. Her whole life is changed that day. She goes from being a carefree kid, to growing up and dealing with pain and sadness every single day. She never imagined that it would ever get worse than that but it did.

"One day this girl's mother brings home a man. This man is the epitome of evil and hurts this girl so much that she wishes for death on a daily basis. She tells her mother but her mother just laughs at her. This girl is called a liar, a whore, and laughed at by the person that should have loved her enough to help her. For years this girl was beaten down and broken until one day she is left for dead.

"If it hadn't been for the help of complete _strangers_ this girl would had died. She fought to hold onto her life that night. After healing at the hospital, she was taken in by a family who showed her what love really was about. They showed her that she wasn't broken beyond repair like she always thought that she was. She was showed that there were things in life worth living for. They saved her when her own _mother_ couldn't give a flying fuck about her," I concluded my story with anger lacing my voice. I was sure that my eyes were pitch black. I was trembling from the memories that this was forcing me to relive and sighed with gratitude as Jasper laid his calming hand on my shoulder. Touch intensified his effect and this wasn't the first time that I was grateful that my best friend was an empath.

"I'm sure that you are bright enough to see the relevance of the story," I said sarcastically.

"Bella-"she began but I interrupted her.

"The first time he hurt me, _you_ laughed at me and said that at least it was me and not you. I came to you and you turned me away. I was so filled with shame over myself. If it hadn't been for this family, I would have died already, many times over."

"Sweethe-" she began again.

"Don't you _dare_ finish that term of endearment. You lost your right to call me anything long ago. Do you remember the nights that I cried out for you?" I asked rhetorically. "How about the times I had to lie to cover _your _ass? Oh, I know, how about the times you walked in on him doing things to me that he should had been killed for, but you just left the room?"

The growls that filled the room made Renee' flinch and I smirked at her reaction. "Curious about how I became like this?" I waved a hand down myself to indicate my immortal body.

"How?" she whispered.

"_Him_," I growled. "He kidnapped me after prom, along with my friend Ruby. He tortured both of us. He took advantage of me and broke me all over again. He killed her and left me nearly the same. He bit me and sucked out the venom over and over. He fed from me while he took my dignity and my soul from me all over again. If Edward hadn't found me when he did, I would have died because of him. Edward changed me and killed that bastard," I sneered at the person that brought me into this world.

"Thank you, Edward," Renee' said softly but with resolution. She was beginning to see how much this family has helped me.

Edward didn't say anything but he gave me a squeeze on my shoulder. "Will you help me up, babe?" I asked him. He looked at me worriedly but nodded his head. He helped me stand up slowly and I heard Renee''s sharp intake when she saw the scars that adorned my immortal body. "When Edward and the Cullens came to save me, Jasper," I pointed to him, "got taken by the bitch working with Phil. In order to get him back, we had to train and fight against an army of vicious newborn vampires. That is what family does for each other. They fight for one another. They save one another. They don't leave anyone behind." I inwardly reveled in the cringe that passed through her.

I pointed to my scars, "these are my battle scars that I received fighting for my _family_." I slowly turned around so she could see each of them. "I would never give up any member of my family. Edward is the love of my life. Jasper is my best friend. Petey, Char, Alice, Emmett, and Rose are my siblings, and Carlisle and Esme are my father and mother." I could see the pain as I claimed Esme as my mother flash across Renee''s face, but secretly felt joy at being able to get through to her for the first time ever. I made a mental note to ask Carlisle is that was normal for a newborn to go through.

"I know that you were influenced to act as you did, but that doesn't erase years of pain. Bruises fade, but the pain remains the same. I hear that you are willing to try our diet. For that reason, I'll request that someone be with you when you hunt in order to teach you how. We'll not coddle you. You're an adult and if you mess up, you're gone. Understand?" I asked. She nodded so I continued. "Is it alright if she stays in the guesthouse at the edge of the property for now?" I asked Esme.

"Anything you want, honey," she gave me a soft smile of understanding. I nodded back to her in thanks.

I turned to Renee'' and said: "there is a house at the edge of the property. Someone will show it to you and that is where you will stay. Whenever you want to hunt, call and someone will meet you out there. Until I can trust you, _if_ I can trust you again, that's what the arrangement will be. I can't get healed like I need to be if I am constantly reminded of what I went through to end up like I have. I am forever thankful to the Cullens and I don't want you to ruin that gratitude," I said a little more sharply than I probably should have.

"I understand," Renee' had unshed venom in her eyes. She'd be crying if it were possible, I am sure. I nodded to show everyone that I was done.

Carlisle came up to me and helped me sit down gently. "How are you feeling sweetheart?" he asked purposefully using the name that Renee'' was told not to. Carlisle is far too much a gentleman to call a woman out, but he would do anything to protect his children. This was his way to show Renee' that what she did wasn't right in the least.

"I'm okay," I said with a small smile.

"Feeding day?" he asked while he examined my wound. I nodded as he pulled my shirt back down to cover my wound. He looked at Edward and mentally said something to him because Edward nodded in response. What I wouldn't give to hear their conversations sometimes.

_Make sure that she doesn't go into shock at all._

"Why would I go into shock?" I asked while cocking my head to the side.

"You heard that?" Carlisle asked with a startled expression. His eyebrows raised at the same time.

"Of course I did. You said it aloud," I said confused.

He and Edward exchanged looks and they both shook their heads. "No, Sweetie. I said it mentally to Edward."

"You're saying I read your mind? Yeah, okay," I scoffed.

"What were you thinking about before you heard me?" Carlisle asked with interest.

I cocked my head to the side. "Umm, I was thinking 'what I wouldn't give to hear their conversations'."

"Let's try something, shall we?" Carlisle asked with an eagerness that reminded me of a child on Christmas morning. I nodded my okay as he asked Peter, Emmett, and Jasper to join us. "What I want everyone to do is mentally converse with Edward. Peter I want you to think something about Bella. Emmett, I want you to think something _to_ Bella. Finally, Jasper, I want you to think _nothing_ related to Bella; something general. Bella I want you to focus on them and try to hear what they are thinking to Edward. Once you hear something, try to grasp what they say. Once you have it, tell us what it is and the person will tell you whether or not you are correct."

"Alright…" I said apprehensively.

I closed my eyes and thought about how I wanted to hear what Edward hears. Nothing happened for a few moments, but then voices flooded my mind. My eyes snapped open and luckily Edward caught me before I fell. My hands flew up to cover my ears and I rocked back and forth in his embrace.

"Bella, Bella! What's wrong, love?" Edward's voice was frantic.

"It hurts," I shrieked. My head felt like it was being split in half. Is this what Edward constantly heard? I couldn't imagine going through this all day, every day.

"Bella," Carlisle shook me to get my attention. "I need you to focus. You need to pull your shield back away from Edward."

I shook my head and cried, "I can't. It's too much."

"You can do it, love. I know you can. Concentrate and focus on making the noise go away. Think about us being alone in our meadow together. We're lying out in the middle, surrounded by nature and the flowers are beginning to bloom. They are the most beautiful colors we ever have seen. Just you and me. No noise, no voices. Can you imagine that sweetheart?" Edward's voice sounded frantic as he instructed me. I listened to his voice. It lulled me into the picture and I could imagine exactly what he said.

As if a switch flipped off, it was instantly quiet inside my head again. I stayed still for a moment in order to make sure that the voices stayed gone. After I was sure that they weren't coming back, I slowly opened my eyes.

I looked up at my love and gasped, "Is that what you always hear?"

His eyes were pained as he gazed down at me. "I have learned to deal with it; to tune it out for the most part. The intensity that you felt was how it was for me in the beginning. When I woke up from my change, I was crippled by the mental voices. It was excruciating. God, Bella, I am so sorry that you had to go through that. I'm so sorry," he apologized over and over for something that wasn't his fault. I told him as much, but he refused to let the blame go. Any pain that I feel, he feels responsible for. That's just how he is though. He's a sweetheart through and through.

He helped me sit up and held onto me as if I would disappear if he let go. I didn't deny him such comforts. Everyone looked at me with concern but I just smiled to appease them. My head still hurt, but it wasn't as excruciating as it was. "I'm okay, really," I told them.

Carlisle was the first to recover. "I take it that you were able to tap into Edward's gift?" he asked the obvious.

"Apparently," I said wryly. "Why though? I don't understand it."

Carlisle began pacing as he mused aloud. "As a human, you were able to tap into both Alice's and Edward's gifts to some extent. We assumed that it was because of the venom enhancing you, but what if it was just the human version of the abilities that your shield can possess? I believe that when you concentrated on tapping into Edward's gift, that you were able to pull him under your shield and do just that."

"I have pulled Edward under my shield many times before. Why haven't I ever tapped into his power before?" I asked.

"Perhaps in order to tap into it, you had to consciously want to do it. I would venture to

assume that part of your shield only works consciously," he theorized.

I was quiet for a few moments while I took it all in. If I could tap into other's gifts when I needed them, our family could have an advantage at all times.

"Alice," I said. I was going to test his theory out.

"Bella, maybe you shouldn't overdo it, honey," Esme said in a motherly tone.

I shook my head and said, "I want to try it."

"Alright, Bella, but remember that Alice's gift is far different than Edward's is," Carlisle reminded me.

"Yes, she is used to seeing many different visions at once. It may become overwhelming to you, love. Just squeeze my hand if you need help being pulled back like last time," Edward told me while taking my hand.

"Thank you, baby," I told him as sincerely as I could. To know that he trusted my judgment on this meant a lot to me.

Alice came up and knelt beside me. She gave me a reassuring smile even though I could see the concern in her eyes. She saw what Edward's gift did to me and I am sure she was worried about what hers would do to me. I kissed her cheek before I closed my eyes and began to concentrate. I had a relative idea of how Alice's visions worked. I had witnessed a few visions while I was still human, but even then, I was only seeing one vision at a time.

Even with that previous exposure, I still wasn't ready when my shield pulled Alice under and multiple visions flowed through my mind. They overlapped one another in certain places and were completely opposite in other places. They all had to do with one another, I could gather that much, but there was too much information for me to comprehend what I was seeing.

I saw two vampires, who just oozed evil, stalking a girl only fourteen or fifteen years old. Just as they were about to lunge at her, the vision changed at the last second it looked like it rewound itself back to when they were stalking her. This time before they even had the chance to decide to lunge at her or not, another vampire intervened. She took them both out before they could harm the girl. The vampire turned around and I gasped. The vision was lost as my shield snapped back into place.

"What did you see?" Carlisle asked ecstatically.

I looked at Alice and realized that she hadn't seen what I had. "Did you see the vision?" I asked her.

She shook her head, "no, I didn't. What did you see?"

"I saw a young girl who looked to be in her mid-teens. She was being stalked by two vampires. Right before they were able to take her down, the vision changed and someone intervened," I explained.

"Who intervened?" Alice asked. She wasn't used to being the one to not see the visions first hand.

"Me," I raised an eyebrow. "I don't understand it though. I don't even know the girl. The vision changed though. It started off without the intervening, and then it changed to me taking out the vampires."

"Many things can change a vision. If the path a person on changes, the vision changes. Unexpected factors can influence changes in visions. Even the simplest thing of seeing a vision can change that vision. If it changed, that means that the key element, the changing factor, is something that is important enough to influence another outcome. If you were that factor, you are the key to stopping those two vampires from hurting her. God, this is so frustrating! For the first time, I know how you all feel to not see the visions yourselves!" Alice huffed. We couldn't help the chuckle that came at her outburst.

"Well, we can analyze the vision more later. What is important is that Bella was able to have her shield to bring both talents into her use. I don't want you to overdo it," Carlisle turned to me and gave me a small smile, "I want you to feed once more today because this experimenting has taken its toll on you. I can see the strain it's put you through. Also, I want Jasper to grab you something in the form of blood. Later on, if you feel up to it, we'll try Jasper's gift. I would like to see if you would be able to actively project something out instead of just receiving."

Carlisle dismissed us and Edward took me back upstairs. Jasper asked what I wanted but I didn't feel too picky at the moment and told him whatever he found would be fine with me. Carlisle came and rechecked my wound again before Edward and I were left alone for a feeding. After I consumed a slightly larger than normal amount of his venom, Edward and I just lay thinking about everything.

"Did you know that you could pull others under like that?" Edward asked while brushing the hair from my face.

I shook my head. "No, I hadn't done that before."

"What was it like?" he asked quietly.

I thought about it for a moment for the right words. "It was painful to hear so many minds. I don't see how you learned to deal with _that_. It felt like my head was cracking open. The visions were different though. It was hard to focus on them and try to understand them, but it wasn't painful. It was odd though to see myself change a vision. The dreams when I was human were different. It's hard to explain," I shrugged.

"It _was_ hard to deal with after I was changed. It took decades to learn to filter through the mental voices and make them more of a hum. Trying to attend school was always difficult because there were so many unique voices. I can't even count how many times I answered someone's mind instead of their actual voice," Edward explained.

I shook my head, "I couldn't imagine."

He shrugged. "Every gift is different. I personally couldn't imagine dealing with your shield. It seems like an awfully hard gift to have."

There was a knock at the door and we beckoned Jasper inside. I smiled as I saw my best friend enter the room. "I would have come sooner but you two seemed a bit…_preoccupied_," he smirked.

I was glad that I couldn't blush anymore. "Hush, _cowboy_, you have no room to talk." That shut him up, but he couldn't help the smile that graced his lips as he brought his bounty over for me and Edward. Jasper was back to his normal health and his eyes were back to that beautiful golden that our family possessed. He handed one thermos to me and the other to Edward before he exited the room.

xOxOxOx

"Alright, Bella, has Jasper explained to you how his gift works?" Carlisle asked. We were all in the living room waiting to see if I really could utilize Jasper's gift.

I nodded and closed my eyes to concentrate. Jasper was standing beside me, with his hand in mine in order to intensify the effect of his power. We weren't sure how this would work, if it worked at all, so we were winging it.

I could feel him being pulled under my shield and I could feel other people's emotions. This was not something new, since he would often project to me in the past. This time, however, it wasn't second hand. I could feel their raw emotions. There was pride, concern, worry, love, regret, hate, and fear. It was almost as if I were getting high on the entire emotional cocktail surrounding me. I could nearly taste them and I craved more.

The negative emotions called out to me and I drew them in. I have no idea how I did it, but I fed off of the hate and fear. The more I concentrated on those emotions, the more powerful they became. I felt powerful and I enjoyed that feeling.

I heard hissing and my eyes snapped open. I saw Renee' crouched in attack position and she was hissing at me. Her eyes were black and they looked murderous. It must have been the emotions that were flowing through my system because I sneered at her and motioned for her to pounce. After everything that happened since she got involved with that bastard, she deserved to be put in her place. I wanted to rip her arms from her body and gloat in the satisfaction of her pain. I wanted to repay her for every ounce of pain she put me through.

As she leaped, I crouched to clash against her but was sidestepped by someone I didn't think would. As Renee' flew at me, the sound of bodies colliding filled the room. Esme grabbed Renee' by her hair and threw her through the wall and out into the yard. You could hear snarls and hissing as they fought.

Everyone went outside to see how this would go. If I were still human, I would have been able to see the individual movements of the two vampires fighting, but being as I was a vampire now, I could see that the fight was close. Esme may have been older but Renee' was a newborn and therefore had more strength than Esme.

"Bella!" Jasper broke my concentration on the fight. I was feeding off the emotions again. Something about them made me feel their power and potential. "You need to pull me from your shield. _Now!_" Jasper shook me. Edward growled at Jasper's aggressiveness and I realized then what I was doing. I pulled him from my shield and Edward's growls stopped immediately.

I felt a calm spread over me and realized that Jasper was using his talent. As the negative emotions drained from me, I realized that this fight was my fault.

"_Don't you dare even think to touch my daughter!"_ Esme snarled as she slapped Renee' across the cheek.

"Jasper, you need to stop them!" I told him. I didn't want Esme to get hurt. On some deep level, I didn't want Renee' to get hurt either, but that was entangled in conflicting emotions.

Jasper nodded to Peter and rushed after the two women. Peter grabbed Esme while Jasper grabbed Renee'. Renee' was the more aggressive of the two because of her newborn emotions so he would fare better with her.

Renee' struggled against Jasper while she fought his influence. "She's _my_ daughter! I gave birth to her!" Renee' growled.

"Alright ladies, calm down," Peter tried to intervene, but the two were still at it.

"_You_ left her to be beaten and broken. _You_ are not a mother, you are a monster!" Esme screamed. Either Jasper's influence or Esme's words broke through Renee''s emotional haze. She stiffened and fell to her knees. Jasper's arms were still around her, as a precaution, but she no longer fought his influence.

Esme, seeing Renee' defeated on the ground, straightened out of her crouch. Peter saw she was done, so he let her go. Esme turned towards the house and began to walk towards us all. As she passed Renee', she hissed at her as one last dominative action. She walked up to us and wrapped me in a hug.

"You really are my daughter," she whispered in my ear as she kissed my cheek. Despite the circumstances, I smiled.

"I know, Mom," I told her as I returned her kiss.

"Renee', I think it would be best if you retreated to the guest house until one of us calls on you. We have family matters to discuss and I think that we all need some time in order to figure out how we move forward from this incident," Carlisle dismissed her. She nodded her head and began limping towards the guest house. I wondered, briefly, what Esme hurt on her, but I couldn't begin to care at the moment.

We all returned to the living room and were silent for a few moments. Nobody was sure where to start, so I took the initiative. "I am sorry about getting out of control. I didn't realize what I had done until it was too late," I said with my eyes avoiding everyone. The inability to control the empathy was embarrassing.

"Bella," Jasper began, "I remember when I first started feeling the effects of my gift. I felt a plethora of emotions and I wanted them. It was easy to get addicted to the different emotions; especially those of vampires since we feel so much more strongly than humans do. Well, you were different as a human though. You had the most powerful emotions I had felt from either human or vampire.

"It took me years to begin to understand how to control it. In the South, we didn't really have anyone who could help us to learn and master our gifts. I felt what you felt, Bella, as you felt it. The emotions were new to you and strong. The negative emotions were the strongest and most powerful, so your vampiric nature craved that power."

I nodded my head. "Yeah," I said with embarrassment and shame filling my voice, "and I couldn't control it. Because of my screw up, Esme could have been hurt. She fought with Renee' because of me. I _wanted _them to fight. I wanted Renee' to feel pain… to feel shame. I wanted her to feel what I felt every day."

"Bells, you did nothing wrong. With what you went through in your past, you deserve some kind of justice for it. Nobody but you can determine what that justice will be. Even though we all tend to forget it, you _are_ still a newborn. Your emotions are much stronger now than they will be when you get older. Also, you are a Warrior, Bella. You are meant to have more powerful emotions. Had anyone else been in your position, they wouldn't have held onto those emotions that well," Peter assured me.

"But Esme-," I began but she cut me off.

"Esme has wanted to do that for a while now. It was only a matter of time until I received a good enough reason to justify it," she winked at me. Despite the guilt that I was feeling, I gave her a small smile.

"Love," Edward said as he wrapped me in his arms, "nobody blames you. In fact, we are all impressed at how quickly you were able to use Jasper's gift. It's a powerful one, as you witnessed, but it is difficult to be able to project emotions like that. For you to have done that on your first try was remarkable to say the least."

Everyone supported me, even after that mishap. What they didn't know, though, was that even though Jasper is no longer under my shield, I still crave those dangerous emotions.

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*****A/N: Please let me know what you think **


	12. Take Away The Suffering

*****A/N: I know it's been far too long since my last update and I do apologize for that. Things in real life happened and any time I sat down to write, it just wouldn't work. I am going to definitely try my best to keep up the story though. I have missed it and I do want to thank you ALL for your continued support of it.**

***** I have recently started using twitter and you can follow me there if you would like to. I will post random teasers of upcoming chapters or answer questions you guys may have. Perhaps even more than that, so you can follow me at zainaballen**

***** Disclaier: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANYTHING TWILIGHT RELATED. ALL CREDIT GOES TO MISS MEYER.**

***** Please let me know what you think of the chapter. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

_**Previously…**_

_Everyone supported me, even after that mishap. What they didn't know, though, was that even though Jasper is no longer under my shield, I still crave those dangerous emotions._

* * *

**BPOV**

Life was starting to get back to normal. I only saw Renee if I caught glimpses of her from a window. She wasn't allowed to hunt on her own yet, but she took runs through the forest often. I had the feeling that it was an attempt to be close to me without imposing herself on me. However, as the days went by, her frequent runs decreased. An odd emotion tugged at me when I realized this. Part of me wanted to forgive her and let her back into my life, but another part couldn't let go of the pain from the past. Both sides were warring with one another and it was emotionally burning me out. Nobody has given me advice on this subject because they didn't want to influence me, but I sort of wish they would voice their opinions.

I was finally back to being able to run and hunt. At first it was painful, but I got used to it again. As long as I didn't try anything too outrageous, I would be okay. Carlisle specifically forbade fighting until further notice. Emmett was sad about that, but I just smirked and told him we'd handle it later. The excitement that lit his eyes made me smile. Despite anything that happened in this life, Emmett found the bright side of things and hung on with all that he had. He was a fierce protector of this family, but he was also a soft teddy bear with a loving heart.

* * *

**JPOV**

The sun was out today; a rare occurrence for Forks. Sitting with my knees drawn up and my arms draped over them, the sun reflected off of the scars that covered nearly every inch of skin there as well the rest of my body.

I was blindly looking at the scars on my arms when I heard her approach and sit beside me. It was a few minutes before she broke the silence. "They're beautiful." When she saw my confused expression she decided to elaborate. "Your scars. They are nothing but beautiful," she said simply.

I shook my head and said, "I don't see how."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw her smile slightly and lean over towards me. Her pointer finger reached out to trace one of the new scars. They stood out because of how new they were made them whiter than the rest. "This one" she said as she traced it, "was given to you when you intercepted a newborn before they could reach Alice. This one," she said as she traced the one on my wrist, "you got from pulling a newborn off of Edward. A second later and that newborn would have decapitated him. You saved him and in turn also saved me. For that I will forever owe you. And this one," she traced the one on the crook of my elbow, "you got by stopping three newborns that were coming to the aid of their master. If you hadn't stopped them, I wouldn't have survived."

She leaned back and looked me in the eyes. "Each of those scars that you received is a reminder of what you saved. You saved your mate, your friends, your family. You also saved countless innocents because together we destroyed someone who could and most likely would kill an entire village without a second thought. Your skin may be covered with scars but each one of those scars had a purpose and shows your strength inside and out."

She pulled her shirt off and was clad in a midnight blue tank top that complimented her very well. The sun glinted off of her skin and I could see just how many scars she has received in this short second life of hers. All in all I would say there were probably fifty including the ones that weren't visible on her legs, back, and stomach. She saw the sadness in my eyes as I thought of the pain she endured as she received those scars.

She took my face in her hands and forced me to look directly into her eyes. "Jazz, these scars that line both of us are testaments to our strength, our loyalty, and what lengths we will go to in order to protect those we care about. I will forever hold these with pride and I hope that you will do the same alongside me." The intensity in her eyes fueled her words. I could feel her determination with this and her absolute faith in me. I nodded my head and she leaned over to kiss my cheek with a smile.

She sat back down beside me and leaned her head on my shoulder. The whole atmosphere of it was peaceful but I could feel her curiosity. I knew what she was curious about because it's what has been on my mind constantly. One thing I appreciate about Bella is that she doesn't push even if she is curious about something personal of another person.

"What's on your mind Darlin'?"I asked as I looked at her with an encouraging smile.

She looked down and I knew that if she could have been she would be blushing right now. I was very glad to see that she didn't lose such an innocent trait with her change. I didn't rush her, but let her take her time. Finally she set her shoulders and filled herself with determination and curiosity.

Bella looked at me and said softly, "I owe you so much Jazz. You've helped me more than I could ever thank you for. I know that it's not my place but... what happened when you were with Maria?"

I gave her a faint smile to let her know that I wasn't upset with her question. It's something that I had been thinking about a lot as well. If anyone were to understand it and accept it without question would be Bella. She's always had that innate ability to accept things without the fake and underlying emotions that most others carried.

"I'll be honest…" I sighed, "It was horrible. It was even worse than when I was with her before. Back then that's who I was. I was the Major, a ruthless warrior who didn't feel much of anything other than the thrill of battle. Granted I was much more compassionate, when need be, than others of our kind, but I was still the most feared participant in the Southern Vampire Wars for a valid reason. It was the only way of life that I knew and I had honestly believed that it was how our kind is supposed to be. Maria had me trained well. This time though wasn't like that. I had always dealt with the unruly vampires and culled them when need be. I had never been on the receiving end of being dealt with. It was definitely a new experience."

Bella put an arm around me in an attempt to comfort me from these memories and it did help. I've always felt completely comfortable around Bella, and vice versa, and I never once had to fake the comfortableness between the two of us by influencing the emotional atmosphere.

"Maria kept me in a cell where she tried anything and everything to break through my exterior. She trained me to be the most formidable and unbreakable soldier there was, which came back to bite her in the ass. She tried everything... tempting me with blood bags and with watching humans being torn apart and drained in front of me. She tried to trigger the instincts that are ingrained in us when we awaken to this life. One of those instincts in particular is bloodlust. There is something that links the smell/taste of blood with desire/lust. I'm sure you've noticed a bit what I mean…" I drifted off with a smirk. She playfully hit my arm and chuckled.

"So that is what Maria tried next. She tried to trigger the lust to see if that would trigger the hunger. She figured that once she could get me to feed on human blood again that I would join her once again." I shook my head at that absurd thought. There was no way in hell that I would ever join her of my own free will. "Before, when I was her puppet, she would reward me for what I accomplished in the name of her ranks by sexual experiences with her. At that time I enjoyed being rewarded for my deeds to my _master_," I spat out the word as if it were poison. "When she tried the same thing in that holding cell… I couldn't believe I had ever had any loyalty to that bitch.

" She realized that she wasn't having the desired effect on me so she resorted to the last thing she could; she physically forced me to feed on a young girl. The little girl reminded me of what you would have looked like at that age," I shook my head in shame, "and she was _so_ scared. I did what I could to ease her fear before…" I trailed off and remained silent; lost in my memories.

"Jazz, I wish I could take those experiences away from you. I'm so sorry that you had to go through all of that. It's not fair. You're such a strong man, husband, brother, and best friend. I love you so much as we all do. You're part of our family and no matter what we stick together. I will _never_ let you go through something like that again. I give you my word on that. You'll never be alone again Jazz," Bella said as she leaned in to give me a hug.

I returned her hug and clung onto her as if for dear life. I grew up in a time when men did not show their emotions and they never cried openly. This was the first time in so long that I let those emotions out. Bella made me feel safe and as weak as that would make me seem, I couldn't bring myself to care at that moment. I began to feel coldness drain out of me and warmth begin to fill me.

I opened my eyes in surprise and saw that Bella still had her eyes closed but we were surrounded by a bright white light. Bella seemed oblivious to this as I stared in awe at her. She shone like an Angel. I felt myself fill with more warmth than I think I had even as a human. Not only was there warmth but other things as well; I felt peace and hope. It started where my heart has sat motionlessly since I awoke to this new life and it spread through every inch of my body. I felt lighter than I ever remember feeling. It was an odd change but not unwelcome.

Whatever was happening began to fade in intensity but remained inside of me. Bella pulled back and opened her eyes. They were now pitch black. I went to reach out to her, but she leaned shook her head and moved back away from me. I was worried that she was afraid of me until I saw her stand up. Her arms flew out and her head pointed upwards. She made a cry before blackness exploded from her. It was similar to what happened during the battle but not quite.

Her cry brought out the rest of the family from the house but who stood in silence and just watched her. Edward began to move forward but Peter stopped him. Edward nodded to something that Peter said mentally and stopped moving towards Bella, although the tension didn't leave his body. He believed in his mate and his family, but those protective instincts that one has for their mate never abates. He was on edge because he didn't know what was happening.

After a couple of minutes, Bella collapsed to the ground. She was panting as if she were out of air even though she didn't necessarily need to breathe. I suppose it was a habit that was carried over from her human life. She remained motionless until her eyes opened and were her normal color again. She looked at Edward and sighed in relaxation at the sight of him. Just knowing that our mates are around us, especially after a difficult experience, it made a large difference on how we reacted to the aftermath.

Her eyes drifted away from Edward's and her gaze attached to mine. There was shock and amazement in her eyes and she looked me up and down as if searching for something. She tilted her head and looked at Peter for an explanation.

He nodded to her and went to kneel in front of her. "Bells, I know that you're confused about what just happened so I'll explain it. Jasper is an empath so he can feel and manipulate emotions. You tapped into his power and used it but your own abilities used it differently than he does. Instead of just feeling and manipulating them, you were able to pull out the negative emotions inside of Jasper and replace them with positive ones."

She looked at me then back at Peter. "I took away his suffering," she said as she understood what Peter was meaning. Peter nodded and she continued, "I could feel it flowing through me, but I wasn't sure what was going on. I couldn't move or anything. It was as if I had lost control of my body, but my body knew exactly what to do. When I took it from Jazz, it was so _much_, but when I released it, it made me feel even lighter than I did before it happened. It was as if some of my own left too…" she trailed off with a crease in between her eyebrows.

"It's part of your gift," Peter said. "You're just now beginning to see how many aspects of it there is. It's not surprising to me that you were able to do that with Jasper. You have a pure heart, Bella, and I'm certain that's where your abilities come from. You don't like to see others suffering, especially those who are close to you."

* * *

**EPOV**

"Come, Love, I want to take you to hunt," I told Bella as I held out my hand for her to get up. She didn't need a hand obviously, but it was a simple gesture that stuck with me after my change. She took a hold of my hand and pulled herself up.

Her hand remained in mine as we ran side by side. About two miles from the house, the wind brought to us the smell of a mountain lion. I gestured for Bella to go ahead and she looked indecisive for a moment before she tore off after her prey. To watch her hunt was something so far beyond sensual that I wasn't sure if there were even words to describe the way that her instincts took over body.

She moved with the silence of the predator that she was. If you watched closely, you could see the changes that occurred. First her nostrils flare at the scent of the blood running through the veins of her prey. Her feet move lightly over the ground as to not make a sound that would alert the prey of her presence. Her muscles begin to twitch with anticipation as she crouches and gets ready to leap on whichever animal she is hunting. Finally, she flies through the air with a gracefulness of an acrobat. She lands on top of her kill and immediately her mouth finds purchase. The moment that blood enters her mouth, she moans at the taste of the live-giving sustenance.

Today, however, she did something that completely off-guard. I was watching her as she was feeding when her eyes rose from her kill to lock on mine. She tilted her head a little, motioning me to come over and share in her kill, and I followed as she held me in her trance. I knelt down across from her and held her eyes with mine as I lowered my mouth this side of the kill's neck. Blood filled my mouth and I moaned at both the taste and the way that her eyes somehow darkened even further as she watched me feed. I'm sure my eyes matched the wild passion and longing that was in hers.

We drained her kill and couldn't help the pull that brought us instantly together. I was still frazzled over earlier and wanted to make sure that she was okay. I held her at arm length and examined her before I pulled her face to mine and kissed her so passionately that time seemed to stop altogether. In an instant the time sped up and we were frantically clawing at one another's clothes. Ours were ripped to shreds and I distantly realized we had no replacements with us, but that thought flew away just as quickly as it came when Bella's hands started exploring my body.

She pushed me down and crawled on top of me. I went to grab her hips but her hands darted out and had mine pinned above my head before even realized anything. She smirked down at me and I was gone. Even a thousand years from now she will still rule my universe and I will happily follow her rule.

* * *

**BPOV**

After the sun had disappeared into the night sky we decided to make our way back to the house. I have no idea how, but Edward's shirt somehow survived our passion session for the most part. He had me wearing it while he had just on his boxers although those had some definite tears in them. I smirked as I watched him run beside me. He saw my smirk and gave me his famous crooked smile.

His gaze turned towards the house as a worried expression covered it. "What's wrong?" I asked him as I reached out to hold his hand. His touch always calmed me and this was no exception.

"Alice keeps repeating the word 'no' over and over but has the rest of it blocked from me. I'm not sure what's going on," worry was evident in his voice.

We hurried to the house and saw Alice pacing back and forth on the porch. Jasper was sitting on the rail, watching her intently. He was concerned for his mate but also for this family. It took a lot to get Miss Happy Pixie freaked out and an eerie feeling crept into my bones and settled there. Something was definitely going on and that something could be nothing but bad.

"Alice?" I asked as I took the initiative.

She stopped and looked at me with pained eyes. "It's your mom, Bella."

"Is she alright?" I asked as my un-beating heart clenched.

Alice sighed and came to stand in front of me. "I'm sorry, Bella, but she's gone. I don't know why or where, but somehow she ends up at Volturi Castle and Aro reads her mind. He finds out everything about you."

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**A/N: I am soooo very sorry for such a short chapter but I wanted to give you guys something at least. This is the first time that I have written in quite a while so it's definitely not my best so I do apologize for that. I am hoping that I can get back into it and give you guys what you deserve! **


	13. Goodbye Note

**** Here is the long awaited update. I am truly sorry for letting this story go for so long. Real life got in the way, but thanks to the support that I am still receiving from everyone, I realized how important it was to me to finish this story. I apologize if the chapter isn't up to par, but hopefully soon I will be back in the swing of things.****

**** This chapter is dedicated to you all. Thank you all for all of the support you have shown me through this story and through "Beauty of the Soul".**

****Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or anything related to it.****

* * *

_**Previously…**_

_"Alice?" I asked as I took the initiative._

_She stopped and looked at me with pained eyes. "It's your mom, Bella."_

_"Is she alright?" I asked as my un-beating heart clenched._

_Alice sighed and came to stand in front of me. "I'm sorry, Bella, but she's gone. I don't know why or where, but somehow she ends up at Volturi Castle and Aro reads her mind. He finds out everything about you."_

* * *

**BPOV**

I read it over and over, not able to make sense of it. There was a note left in my mother's handwriting. It was addressed to me and only I have read it. But no matter how many times I read it, this entire situation doesn't make sense to me. My mother was gone, nobody knows why, and she will end up at our enemy's front door if she follows the vision that Alice saw.

_My Daughter,  
I am truly sorry for the pain that you have had to endure. I am sorry that I failed you as a mother, as a protector, and as a friend. You are my only daughter and you were the light that kept the darkness away for so long. I don't know what happened to that nor do I want to try to make excuses for what happened. There is no excuse for what you have been put through and I can never make that up to you, I know. It breaks my heart to see the outcome of what I allowed to happen to you. I am, though, truly thankful to the Cullens for all that they have done for you. They saved you and made you whole again. I see the love that you share with each and every one of them. I have come to realize and accept that will never be possible with us and as a mother that breaks my heart even more. But it's because I'm your mother that I have left. I don't know what this world has in store for me, but I do know that for you to be truly happy, you deserve to be free from your past. Allow the Cullens to take care of you just as you take care of them in your own ways. Never be sad Bella because you have been blessed with an amazing family and you deserve the most out of life. Even though my past actions haven't proven this, I do love you with all of my heart and I wish you the best in life.  
Goodbye Bella,  
-Rene-_

I folded the note carefully and placed it back in my pocket before resuming my pacing. I was currently alone in the forest just outside of the yard line. Everyone had concerned looks when I told them I needed to be alone, but they all understood that I needed time to process everything.

Even though I have been handling this new life fairly easily, I was still a newborn who just got over being critically injured. A vampire being critically injured isn't something that is all that common. Congratulations self. We not only had to have bad luck as human, but now as an all-powerful vampire, that bad luck has followed us into this form of afterlife. I sigh and shake my head before trying to refocus my attention. Wallowing isn't beneficial to anyone and the danger that the Volturi pose isn't just involving me, it involves my entire family.

From one tree to the next and back again is the pacing route that I have taken. I'm so wrapped up in my own mind that I don't hear footsteps approach until I hear a voice startle the silence of the forest. "Keep pacing like that and you'll dig a hole to China."

I look up, a bit startled at the sudden appearance of Peter and look down to see the few feet deep crater that I've created. I leap up to the smooth surface and sit down instead of pacing. I'm facing the setting sun, which this part of the forest gives me a remarkable view of, and Peter takes a seat next to me.

We both just watch the sun set until darkness surrounds us. One thing I appreciate about Peter is that he doesn't rush me and waits patiently until I am ready for things. It always makes me wonder what he was like as a human; if this patience of his was learned or if it was innate. Perhaps it's part of the experience that vampires get during their time on this earth.

"I don't know where to begin on sorting my thoughts out," I sigh in frustration. "There's a thousand scenarios running through my head right now. Each one has a different reason for Rene being at the Volturi's castle and each has a different outcome. I can't sort them out. They are just all…there… and they just…" I throw my head into my hands and grip at my hair. I long for a human mind again at times. While human minds can be busy to humans, it's nothing compared to a vampire's busy mind. There are so many thoughts all the time. A vampire's mind processes so much more at such a higher speed than a human's does.

I feel Peter's hands gently remove mine from my hair. It's a good thing that my hair toughened as well through my change or I may have just torn it all out. He holds my hands in one of his and uses the other to tilt my chin up. He patiently waits for me to open my eyes and when I do, I see the compassion and understanding in his.

"It is a lot," he agrees. "You have more to process than most vampires do by your age, so it's understandable that you are frustrated Bells. If I didn't already know you and know your uniqueness and potential, I would assume something is wrong with you. You are blessed to be able to hold it together as well as you do, but it can be overwhelming and I know that hon. That's why I am here. I'm going to be your soundboard. You can bounce whatever is in your mind off of me and I'll help you sort through all of this. Okay?"

I don't know what I would do in this life without the people who have been placed in it. For that I am extremely thankful. I nod and he sits down beside me and faces my direction. He just waits, knowing that I will start when I'm ready.

I look up at him and nod to show him I'm ready. He gives me a reassuring smile so I start. "First off, we need to figure out Rene'. The Rene' that was here wasn't the one that I grew up with, and even that one I didn't truly know, so I'm at a loss there. My first instinct is to assume that she's going to the Volturi on some kind of revenge kick. Another part of me thinks this is ridiculous, but then remembers what the past was like. So I honestly don't know…" I trail off.

"What about the note she left you?" He asked. I look at him, wondering how he knew about it, and he just gives me the 'seriously?' look. "Bella hon, remember I just _know_ some things. This is one of them."

"Right," I mumble slightly embarrassed. He squeezes my hand to let me know that it's okay. I hand him the note and he looks it over carefully before handing it back to me. "I don't know," I shake my head. "It seems genuine. It _feels_ genuine, but it's so unlike anything I've known for the past few years that it makes me question whether or not it really is."

Peter nods understandingly. "We need to find a way to separate emotion from instinct. It's difficult in cases like this, but for this one, especially with the danger it can provide, we need to find a way for you to be able to. I can look at this objectively, just like I'm sure Jasper and Char can, but I know that it will be more difficult for you because there is no reason why you shouldn't be emotional over this entire situation."

I just raise my eyebrow as I look at him. He rolls his eyes and says, "You know what I mean Bells." I nudge his shoulder to show him that I was just playing. "Is there any intuition you got when you were around her?"

I consider his question thoroughly before answering. Did I and if I did, did I pay attention to it? The one thing that I can honestly say is helpful right now since my change is the fact that vampires have total recall. We have an eidetic memory. There was something tugging at the tip of my mind, but no matter how much I tried to reach it, something was blocking it.

"There's… something… but I can't really remember. It's almost as if there is a block…" I say with a sigh.

Peter nods and he seems to know what I mean because he jumps up to his feet and holds out his hand for me. I take it not knowing where he was going with this.

"Well, Bells, we need to get passed that block. It's not uncommon for some vampires to develop blocks like this when they are still adjusting to being a newborn. Normally it lasts because the newborn doesn't realize what it is and just assumes that it's part of losing their humanity. Normally, as you experienced briefly after awakening to this life, newborns have extremely faded memories if any of their human life. After their transformation they tend to lose what they don't actively seek to keep. Luckily for you, Bells, you are a part of a very talented family!" he patted me on the head which made me glare at him. He loves to pat my head to remind me I'm the baby of the family. It's all in good fun so I return the fun with pretending to be offended. All in all though we both know that neither one is offended or else neither of us would continue it. We care about each other too much for that.

We headed back to the house and called for the family to gather. We sat in the living room while we waited for the others to join us. Once everyone had sat down, Peter filled them in on the mental block that I was experiencing. This concept of the block seemed like news to Esme, Rose, and Em, but the rest seemed to understand it for the most part. At least I wasn't the only one in the dark about this so that rested my nerves a bit.

"So what can we do to help?" Carlisle asked. He always has been perceptive.

Everyone looked towards Peter to figure out what to do next.

"Well," Peter started, "we each have our own gifts. We need to bring those gifts together to fill in the missing pieces that Bella has in her mind. Perhaps someone will know something that will trigger her memory."

"I don't see how strength will help in this case… or beauty… or motherly instinct," Em said.

I looked at him and smiled. "Emmy bear, Peter means your other gifts." He looked at me like I had lost my mind. Have I? Perhaps I finally have hit that breaking point. But the more that I thought about it, the more I realized that some other part of my mind knew what I didn't. The part that tells Peter the things he "just knows" is the same part that's telling me that there is far more to see than meets the eyes with this family. There were more gifts in this family than anyone knows about.

Peter must have caught whiff of what I was thinking because he just smirks and nods to me. My eyes are drawn away from him as I see a new type of coloring around everyone. Is it because my mind just now realized this about the family? It must be. I've noticed that new abilities only begin showing themselves to me when they are needed. It must be the universe's way of not overwhelming me too much. That almost makes me laugh, but instead I just capture a seed of gratitude for that instead.

I take a good look at Em and notice that there is now a bright orange glow around his heart. This was a new color but I knew that it meant that Emmett has a natural optimism about him. He always sees the best in this world.

Rosalie was beside Emmett, but Esme drew my eye next. She was shining from her heart. At first confusion took hold because Esme… jealous? I shook my head at myself as I realized what it truly meant. Green symbolized a balance… a harmony between the heart and the mind. She had both in equal measure. Hmm.. perhaps this is what Peter was talking about. Perhaps Esme also had the ability to separate situations like Peter, Jasper, and Char can. This would make sense because she's a mother of such a unique batch of vampires. I make a mental note to ask questions about Esme's gift later.

Rose was filled with a brown coloring that wasn't necessarily new, but it was definitely enhanced. Peter once told me that brown signifies protection and support of the family. This really does suit Rose. Despite her Ice Queen persona, she is a strong protector of this family. She doesn't allow people to do wrong to us and if they do, she makes sure they are repaid in full for it. I'm very thankful that I am on the family side of her or else I would fear for my life. She is a gorgeous and deadly beauty.

A throat clears and I look up to see everyone staring at me. I feel the ghost of a blush radiating through my face even though I will never blush again. "Sorry, Bells, you were just staring at my wife pretty deeply," Em smirks. I laugh and roll my eyes at him. Our playful Emmybear. What would we do without him?

"Sorry I was just overviewing the gifts I was talking about a few minutes ago," I begin to explain. "Em, you are always looking on the bright side and you are just innately optimistic. Your heart shows this." I had explained long ago about whole seeing colors thing. They all understood as best as they could without experiencing it firsthand.

I looked at Esme and smiled at her warm smile. I don't know what I would have done without her unconditional love. She showed me what a real mother/daughter relationship is supposed to be and she has showed me the type of mother I want to be if I ever get an opportunity like she has. "Mom," she smiles brightly and her eyes glisten at the name, "you are balanced. You have a complete harmony between your heart and your mind. You are able to see situations for what they are and you have an intuition about any situation that it is. Follow that intuition in everything that occurs."

I could sense Esme's confusion. I am sure that she's always felt like an emotionally-sided person where she only feels with her heart and her head is clouded, but if she follows her intuition, it will guide her and allow her to user her gift properly.

"And finally Rose," I smile at her and she looks a bit nervous as she uncrosses then re-crosses her legs. We all hold onto human habits even after we change. This is one of Rose's. "You are a fierce protector of your family. You would fight tooth and nail to protect it and we are all thankful for that part of you. This part of you has been enhanced over time and will continue to gather strength as time goes on. You are a vital part of this family's protection." Her relief is nearly palpable. I can see how relieved she is that there wasn't anything unusual going on with her. Well anymore unusual than being a vampire and all.

"So," I continue on, "the question now becomes what do we do with what we know?" We all turn towards Peter again for his guidance.

Peter, being used to a leader position, takes the lead from here. He stood up and began pacing. I'm guessing it's a trait that all vampires have because we all seem to do it when we are in deep thought. "Well," Peter begins. He turns to the family. "Did anyone catch anything that could possibly explain Rene's departure?"

Everyone took a moment to reflect back on the time that Rene' was with us. I wasn't surprised when Edward spoke up since he is a mind reader and he watched Rene' like a hawk. "She seemed to be sincere in what her intention to right the wrongs that were done to Bella. She understood that she couldn't change the past, but she had a deep hope that she'd be able to find a way to try and make up for it." I suppose I wasn't surprised. I felt her genuineness as well. Whether or not what she hoped was correct, I didn't have time to dwell on it. Like Peter said; I needed to find a way to separate emotions from reason and logic.

"I had that feeling from her as well," I spoke up softly. Nobody questioned me further and just nodded. I know that they weren't sure where I stood on the Rene' situation when it came to her being back in my life. Hell, I had no idea where I stood on that either.

Peter asked if anyone else had anything to add and Alice added in a few futures that she saw from the time that Rene' joined us until the last vision she had that involved the Volturi. While the visions were very insightful, we didn't learn anything immediate from them.

Quiet took over for a good ten minutes before Peter stopped in front of Esme. He knelt down and looked at her. "What did you sense from Rene'?" He asked her.

"I don't know…" she said. I could tell that she didn't quite understand why Peter would ask her that. She didn't think she had a special gift. We, on the other hand, knew that she did. She was balanced. That balance is enhanced by vampire venom. This leaves her sense of judgment at a very high level.

"Please Esme?" I asked her. "Anything… anything that you may have felt around her."

She was quiet for a moment before she shared with us. "I felt antsy around her. I knew that she was Bella's mother, but knowing what she allowed to happen … it just got to me. I tried to steer clear of her, for fear of saying something that may upset things. I didn't want to involve Bella in something that didn't need to happen. But, all in all, I have to agree with Edward. The mother side of her wanted to try to make things right. I could see it in all that she did. She wanted to change things between you two and wanted to find a way to make you happy. She wanted to fix things."

I, Bella, facepalmed at that moment. Everyone looked at me like I had lost my mind. Perhaps I have, but perhaps not. "That's it." They waited patiently for me to elaborate. "We have been assuming that it's Rene's choice to go to the Volturi. What if it wasn't her intention? I think that she left here to try and make things right, or what in her mind she thinks is right. I don't think that her leaving here has anything to do with her being at their castle. I think it's two separate things altogether." They were following my ramblings and I could see the moment when they all realized what I was saying.

"So her being at the Volturi is something differently entirely," Peter said to simplify what I said. I nodded and he agreed with me.

Then something happened.

Peter has described to me his "intuitions" that he gets at times. He was hoping that by explaining them to me that I would know what to look out for so I could tell the difference between the gift of intuition and just a regular thought. Right now I'm very thankful that he took the time to teach me that.

I looked to Peter at the exact moment that he looked to me. Horror must have been written over both of our faces because Emmett asked us what was wrong.

I could only get out one word as fear began engulfing me. "James…"

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****Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you think! :)****


	14. Vampire Comes Out To Play

**** Here is the next chapter. I hope you guys enjoy and please let me know what you think after you read it! **

**** This chapter is dedicated to you all!**

****Disclaimer: Nothing that has come from SM belongs to me. My own creativity, however, has just taken a run and nothing negative is intended. All rights belong to Stephanie Meyer.**

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_**Previously…**_

_I could only get out one word as fear began engulfing me. "James…"_

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**BPOV**

"I don't know what it means," Peter tries to explain. It wasn't every day that a sadistic ex-step-father-vampire-of-hell is mentioned around here. "Our gift doesn't work that way. We get a feeling, or picture, or word in our head. Sometimes it's clear and sometimes it's not. For example, I saw the asshole on the ground burning with his change. Beside him was another person changing. Is that what you saw too?" Peter asked me.

We were all a bit shaken up and I could feel the tension in the room. I nodded my head and put my head in my hands. I know that I can't get a migraine, but I'm sure this is the vamp equivalent of one. Edward asked me if I was okay and I just nod again. I was afraid to speak because I knew that my voice would crack and then I'd have to spend God knows how long trying to get everyone to calm down and back off. They all love me as I love them, but sometimes the fact that we were all so close, and I'm the baby of the family, they treat me with extra-strength kid gloves when in reality I'm stronger than I should be.

Edward was rubbing my back, trying in a small way to make me feel better. It wasn't helping, but I didn't want to make him feel bad, so I just let him continue.

Since Peter started explaining things, Carlisle had been deep in thought. After a few minutes of silence, he spoke up. "When I was with the Volturi, Aro granted me access to the hall of records because he appreciated my desire in furthering my knowledge. Despite how he has always been, he's always admired thirst for knowledge. It was during my time there that I came across this folder that seemed to be insignificant. That was until I realized that you were the prophesized one. The folder contained records of two vampires."

Carlisle now had everyone's attention including my own. "Aro studied them for years. Through their thoughts, he saw that they had a very special gift. The older vampire, Charleston, had the gift of manipulation. He was able to manipulate the human body to control it. He was like a puppeteer and humans were his puppets. This aided him well not only with feeding but with his own personal amusement as well," Carlisle shuddered at this.

It's not unknown that time means little to most vampires. Sometimes vampires will find amusement with humans to break up their own monotonous lives.

He focused and continued on. "Charleston sired a female named Florence. She was only thirteen when he sired her. Our kind has laws against siring children under the age of 16 because they are immortal children who cannot control themselves. Luckily for Charleston, Florence was far more mature than the average thirteen year old so when she was turned she was an average newborn.

"One day during a hunt, Charleston noticed that Florence had a gift like his. She manipulated her prey into a frozen state so that she could easily feed. He kept his observations to himself, but continued watching Florence. Time proved his theory to be correct. While it's common for a sire bond to form a sense of connection to one's sire, there hadn't been any known cases where the sire passed down his or her gift to the new vampire.

"Word got around and Aro captured both of them. He held the threat of death over Charleston and Florence for there was the issue of creating the immortal child. Aro used this as a reason to hold them in his custody. He experimented with them and came to realize that Charleston was able to pass his gift onto any vampire he created. It was Aro's thorough testing that revealed that Charleston could be very useful so Aro kept Charleston and Florence, but disposed of the rest of the vampires that Charleston sired. He kept Florence because she was the only one to have inherited another gift besides the gift of manipulation."

Carlisle began pacing to keep his mind straight. "A while back, I pulled out my old journals just to double check my observations and my facts. By doing so I remembered one night as I was walking the corridors, I had overheard a whispered conversation between Aro and Caius. They were keeping this from Marcus because out of the three of them Marcus had the most humanity and Aro feared that he could cause an unnecessary issue in his plan.

"Aro was telling Caius of the prophecy of the young Warrior. Aro feared that the prophecy would come to fruition and take away his power as leader of the Volturi. Caius, always the conceited one, argued that nobody could overthrow them. Aro made his plan known though to Caius. He figured that if he couldn't stop the prophecy from happening, he could at least control it. He wanted to use the gift that Charleston had to create an opponent that would take care of the young Warrior before he or she embraced their destiny. He thought that if Charleston could create a vampire with his gift of manipulation and be able to pass it on, but also handpicked which person it was, he could pick which gift this vampire would have. Since everyone has an inherent gift, and the venom just increases it, Aro could use Eleazer's gift to choose which vampire would be the best match for what he needed. After choosing a woman from Ireland, Aro was able to create the perfect opponent for the warrior. He figured that he would train this woman and wait until the young warrior presented themselves."

Everyone was quiet because we were all stunned by this. "Aro knew about me?" I asked and somehow managed to keep my voice from quivering.

"It's a possibility," Carlisle says softly.

"How?"

"I don't know," he admits. "I do know that he has powerful psychics at his disposal though who don't have the limitation that Alice does. While Alice is extremely talented, she is limited to seeing the path that someone is on based on their decisions. Aro, however, has psychics that can see the ultimate outcome of something. They are able to see past the decisions to the final chapter. He must have used one of these to find out that it was Bella. There has been too much that has happened for it to just be mere coincidence."

So there it was. Everything was part of a larger game. I was a pawn in some sadistic vampire's game for control and I always have been. I asked just to be sure, "so everything that happened when I was human… it was Aro's doing?"

"Yes, I believe so Bella. For that I am truly sorry," Carlisle says and I can feel the sincerity of his words. He truly was sorry.

There were so many thoughts going through my mind at once that it only increased the non-migraine-migraine I was feeling. I wanted to scream out in frustration and I imagined myself doing just that, but I knew that I had to keep it together. I had to hold onto whatever sanity and calm I had left in me. I couldn't let this show how much it got to me.

"The way that he controlled Rene… James had to have been sired by that Irish woman." In that revelation two things happened. First off I forgave Renee for everything that has happened because I finally knew that it really wasn't her fault. She was a pawn just as I am. Secondly, I didn't know what would happen, but I did know that I would take down Aro. I would make him pay for all that he has done to hurt me, my family, and countless others. Aro wouldn't hurt anyone ever again.

After a while I wasn't able to focus at all and my head was pounding. My entire body felt on edge and my throat was beginning to burn. I was thirsty and I knew I needed to hunt before I blew up at someone. Thankful for our connection, Edward sensed my unease and he told everyone that we were done for now.

"Come Love," he said as he grabbed my hand. We ran off into the woods and began searching for prey.

Two mountain lions, mates at that, had the unlucky fate of being our supper. I hunted, but I didn't let my instincts take over fully because I was just feeling too out of it. My head was still pounding.

I sat down on the grass beside where I buried my kill and watched as Edward finished up with his meal. It really was a truly fascinating thing to watch your mate hunt. Even though I was feeling off, the lure that I feel towards Edward hasn't dissipated at all. It's just as strong as it's always been but it grows every day. I doubt I could ever get enough of Edward. He means everything to me.

My eyes follow his predatory movements as he finishes up his meal, licks his lips, and buries his kill. He knew that I was watching him so he took his time and made sure to keep my attention on him.

I could feel my predator responding to him and trying to claw her way to the surface. There were two sides to me now and it disturbed me a bit to be split in half; sharing my body with another thing. Bella, the human that I was and the vampire that I am now shares my body with my vampire instincts. It's like how Jasper is himself but he has another side to him that many fear; known as Major.

I've come to realize that everyone has darkness inside of them. Everyone has another side to themselves, but luckily it isn't often that humans have to struggle in order to balance it out. Ever since I woke up to this life, though, I have had that struggle to deal with. I try my best to be just Bella most of the time, but sometimes my darkness comes out. Trying to hold control over it is what keeps me from embracing it. I am afraid of losing myself.

My eyes, still watching Edward, follow his movements as he stalks toward us. I love how sure of himself he is when he's around me. I know that when I was human he had to hold back quite a bit and it made some things a bit awkward, but now we can both embrace our connection and I think that it has changed both of us in the best of ways.

"I love you Bella," he says as he drops down behind me. He brushes my hair to the side as his lips connect with my throat. My body responds in a moan as I feel his teeth scrape over my skin. Migraine forgotten I move my arm up around his neck pulling him closer to me. "I love you so much," he says as he kisses the skin that is on display for him and him alone.

"I love you too," I say between moans as he bites my neck gently. There is a bit of a sting but not much at all and I know that it isn't enough to leave a scar there. I really don't mind scars from him though. Each is a testament of his love for me. His body holds scars from me so it only bonds us together.

We are both instantly pulled out of our moment by a twig snapping. To a human it wouldn't be heard because it was too light for their ears. Vampire.

We are both on our feet and on the alert before a second passes. We both stand there listening for whoever was out there. I didn't want to be rash just in case it was one of our family members.

As a few moments passed something seemed off. It was someone from our family they would have announced their presence by now. I look over at Edward and see that he's trying to catch the intruder's thoughts. He shakes his head minutely to tell me that he couldn't get anything. This was how I knew that something was really up.

I listen as hard as I can but can't hear anyone out there. This vampire is good at hiding, but not a pro because just then the wind shifted slightly and I caught a faint trace of their scent. I take off without a second passing. I could hear Edward behind me, trying to caution me through our connection, but the further I went the further behind me he became.

To the right, too soft for a human, I hear someone running from me so I leap up into the trees. I could get to them quicker like this and I have a better view. From tree to tree I jump and after a few minutes, thanks to my speed, I see the vampire running. I take a quick jump from the tree I'm in and land on their back. Over and over we tumble before we stop. I am on top of him and I quickly move to hold him down. My legs are wrapped around his, crushing his thighs together, and my arm is over his neck while my hand holds his head to the side. His eyes look at me from the corners since he is facing away from me. I see fear in them mixed with his instinctual need to get out from under me. Sorry, no can do.

A few moments later I hear Edward break into the clearing that we landed in. He took just a second to observe what was happening before he growled at the vampire. He moved to help me, but I just shook my head. I could do this. I was the stronger of us and the newborn. I also didn't want to take a chance that something could happen to him. Edward is my mate and there is no way I could put him at risk.

"Who are you?" I growl out. I could feel his body shake, but he remained silent. I glare at him for a few moments. "Very well then, come along," I say as I pull him up. He tries to break away from me, but he can't move with my arms wrapped around him so tightly. "Don't," I say as menacingly as I can. He instantly stops struggling. Smart boy.

I know that Edward is worried right now, knowing that he has no control over the situation and knowing that I'm so close to someone that could hurt me. He's freaking out inside, his instincts trying to take over and remove the threat from us, but he knows better than to follow those instincts. He knows that I am more than capable.

Silently we made our way back to the house. I whistled loudly and waited for everyone to come down to meet us. Less than a minute later the family was all outside and moved toward us cautiously and looked at the vampire with concern. Seeing so many vampires around him, Intruder Vampire decides to start growling. Instincts and all.

I begin chuckling. "That won't help you," I whisper in his ear. He struggles against me some more and I only tighten my grip. "You'd do best to stop trying to get away," I tell him slowly in his ear. He shudders and tries again to break free.

"Em," I say without taking my eyes off the vampire, "will you please come take my place?" He comes over right away and grabs the vampire from me and holds both of his arms behind his back until we can all see the strain that caused his arms to look like they were about to pop off.

I walk in front of this vampire and look down at him with my arms crossed across my chest. "Who are you?" I ask again.

Just then he spits on the ground in front of me. Still no answer. Well this will never do.

I squat down to look him in the eyes. Dark blood red with a hint of black. Hmm a human feeder; no surprise there.

"Your eyes are a darker shade than a normal vampire who feeds from humans. This means that you are a newborn, but since the color isn't as dark as mine I know that you are very close to your one year mark." Still nothing but silence from him. "I on the other hand am a fresh newborn. This means that I am stronger than you and right now you are seriously outnumbered. So I will ask you again, who are you?"

I watch as a smirk works its way across his face. "Bob"

I laugh at this as if he just told a very funny joke. I could almost feel the smugness from him so I decided to let him feel something else too. I pulled Jasper under my shield and was immediately assaulted with the various emotions around me. There were a lot of different ones to feel and it took a few moments to get used to it. I have used Jasper's gift before so it wasn't totally foreign to me, but it was still unsettling and overwhelming.

After a few moments I open my eyes and look at this vampire. I can feel his emotions. He's feeling scared, angry, worried, and instinctual. It felt like I was caressing each emotion to feel it. His emotions began to feed mine.

I close my eyes again and try to reign it all in. Last time that I used Jasper's gift, I felt a draw to the power of it and I wanted to embrace it. That was the vampire side of me. I felt her rearing her head. It was me who brought Jasper under my shield, but it was my inner-vampire who opened her eyes.

I use Jasper's gift to pull in his fear and bounce it back at his twice as hard. He immediately begins shuddering. I smile widely and keep eye contact with is red eyes as I add just one more dose of fear into him. His shuddering only increased and it made my smile all that much wider.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," I say in a voice that is lower and colder than normal. It sounds like me, but doesn't sound like me at the same time. It was the voice of my vampire.

"Humor won't help you in this situation," I say as I reach out to tip his bowed head up so he has to look in my eyes. Fear shines brightly in his eyes and it pleases me to see this reaction. I also see my own eyes reflected in his, but the utter blackness that I see in that reflection doesn't scare me; it only serves to please me more. I know that should worry me, but right now I couldn't care less.

I feel worry erupt around me from my family. They aren't sure what's going on, but they obviously caught the change in my voice and posture. Good. Less time explaining to them things that should be obvious.

I lean toward the vampire and I whisper in his ear, "tell me who you really are or you will start losing limbs and some very vital parts that I don't think should be detached. And if you still refuse to tell me after all of that agonizing pain, well then I will force you to watch me slowly burn you piece by piece." My voice held so much threat in it that everyone took a step back even though it wasn't directed at them.

"While you're burning," my eyes never leave his and I steadily push doses of pain and terror into him so he knows how it will feel, "I will keep your head from burning so you still feel every ounce of pain that the fire, as well as my hands, will bring you." I stop for a second to let that sink in.

After a moment I continue, "Did you know that even if your limbs are detached, they still feel everything as if they are still a part of your whole body? This means when something happens to them, like burning, you still feel it. Then when you're howling and screaming for it to end, and trust me you will ask for an end, I will ignore you like you are ignoring my questions and then I will keep your head and torment you with it for as long as I need to. Time means nothing to me; a day, a year, a century. I have nothing else to do so you will keep me occupied for as long as I want you to."

"No-o," he stutters out. "I'll tell you, just don't please."

"Good boy," I say and pat his head. I stand up, cross my arms once again, and glare at him before motioning for him to continue.

He is quiet until I take a step towards him. "My name is Brian."

"Now," I chide him in a seemingly innocent voice, "was that so terribly difficult?"

He shakes his head and just watches me with widened eyes. The fear coming from him was fueling me more than anything. I crave the power he is giving me and I am definitely enjoying this. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply. A grin plasters its way across my face as I revel in the power I'm feeling. There is a part of me that knows I'm going too far, and that this isn't me, but I lock it up in a soundproof room in my head.

My eyes open and I look at him again. I knew they were pitch black and I must look pretty feral right now. Oh well.

"So Brian," I drawl slowly. "What is your reason for being here?" Again he was silent and that was starting to piss me off. I pour some more pain into him, the pain that I remembered from the confrontation with Maria, and he doubles over on the ground; curling into a fetal position and rocking back and forth. I cock my head to the side and watch him. Back and forth… back and forth…

"Bella…" Edward says softly. I turn to look at my mate and smile as I drink him in. He's unbelievably handsome. I stalk over to him, wishing I could be done with all of this and have some alone time with him, but I knew there was a time and place for that and unfortunately this was neither the time nor the place.

When I reach him, I wrap my arms around his waist and kiss his chest before resting my head there. He kisses my head and I feel his concern. I push some reassurance to him and that is when he understands.

"Bella, love, why is Jasper under your shield?" he asks softly as he plays with my hair. He knew me too well to act rashly. My ever-patient mate. God how I love him.

I shrug. "Because _Bob_," I sneer, "wouldn't tell me his name. I asked politely, but he was rude." I pouted. I heard Jasper, Peter, and Char chuckle at this. They were able to appreciate this if nobody else could.

Edward nods with understanding. "That's true my love, but how about we deal with this without Jasper's gift? Why don't you take him out of your shield?"

I shake my head and take a step back. "No," I say simply and move back towards the vampire.

* * *

**EPOV**

When Bella's demeanor changed I instantly felt the difference. I felt something pulling at something deep inside of me. When she spoke, it was different and her words caressed something within me. It may have been cold, the way she was acting, but it was sensual nonetheless. Watching her deal with the vampire was like watching something you couldn't pry your eyes off of. The way she moved called to me more than anything else in this life ever has. I was mesmerized by my mate.

The look in her eyes alone made me want to pounce on her, but I couldn't. Not the time.

Bella looked every bit of the vampire that she is and looks every bit as dangerous. I knew something was going on and when she pushed reassurance at me, using Jasper's gift, it all made sense. I knew that I should stop her, but my requests were only halfhearted because I wanted to see this all unfold. This was a whole other side of Bella that has rarely even peeked through. I was intrigued.

_Son, what's going on? Should we stop this? This is so unlike Bella. _Carlisle's thoughts reached out to me.

I shake my head to let him know that Bella's in control of this. Yes it's unlike Bella, but not at the same time. This was the vampire that Bella is. Our family has become so humanized by our daily interaction with humans and the denial of our natural food source that it makes us more like them.

Seeing Bella like this shows me just how humanized we have become. I'm not saying that it's a bad thing for us, because it's not, but it does concern me because how Bella is right now is how other vampires will act towards us. This could become an issue with our safety. Maybe we needed to embrace our inner-vampire a bit more just in case it's ever needed.

Bella paces in front of the vampire slowly. She's building anticipation in the vampire and it's working wonders. His mind is a scramble of pain, fear, and instincts. His mind is so muddled with everything that he's stuck in it and is less of a threat. My mate is so smart. The smirk that creeps its way onto my face is lost on her, but that only means that I will have to show her it later.

Back and forth; to and fro. "Now, Brian," she starts. "I have a problem with you just showing up here out of the blue. What is your reason for this unexpected visit?"

Bella pulls back whatever she was throwing at him and he calms down enough to talk. "I was sent here to observe." He never takes his eyes off of my mate because he's afraid of her. Smart.

Everyone's minds went in a thousand different directions. I tried to tune them out and Bella, sensing my frustration, blocked them for me. I sent her my appreciation and she sent me her love. This exchange made me smile. This silent and personal communication between us always makes me love her even more.

"Observe what?" Bella asks patiently.

When Brian shakes his head, Bella loses that patience. She walks right up to him and grabs his right arm. Screeching fills the air as she rips three of his fingers off slowly. His cries ring out loudly and we can all smell the venom leaking from his wounds. This only seems to fuel Bella. She chuckles darkly, "See what you made me do?" She tsks him and his mind is now focused on two things. Pain and fear.

Everyone's concern fills my mind as they realize what's going on. The vampire inside took over Bella and that's who was in front of us at the moment.

Jasper goes to take a step towards Bella, but her head snaps around and she looks at him through narrowed eyes. "Jasper, I love you, but it won't be good if you come over here. Stay please." She says forcefully, but I can see in his mind that she sends him reassurance and an emotional apology. Even her vampire knows that Jasper is her best friend and brother and although she never wanted to show him up and respects him very much, she's in battle mode and isn't sure how she'll handle someone so powerful beside her.

He nods and takes a step back to show that he's listening to her. He knows better than any of us what was going through Bella right now. He also knows how to handle it. Normally, though, if anyone else would say that to him, that person would be dismembered before they could blink. This just shows how much he loves Bella.

"Now, _Brian,_" she says cheerfully as if all of this is completely normal. Her manner unsettles the vampire on the ground even more.

"I was having a great time with my mate," she looks at me and her eyes smolder a bit, "and you just had to interrupt us. So I bring you back here to meet the family and you just act all shy. That's no way to behave, Brian. It's very rude and disrespectful." Bella shakes her head at him and that's when I realize that she has his mind blocked from me as well now. I know that she did it so that I won't have to put up with his screaming and horror-filled thoughts. I silently thank her for that.

"Actually you know what Brian?" She says as she sits cross legged in front of him. He just stares at her and he's definitely scared shitless. "I've been having a bad week. Well month really. No it's been a bad lifetime in all actuality. It seems like I never get a break," she sighs. "When something happens, something else starts before I can even blink. Would you like some story time Brian?" She asks innocently as she looks up at him.

I've not found many people, who frighten me, but at this moment, my mate frightens the hell out of me, but at the same time it entrances me even more.

Before he can answer, Bella continues on. "It all started when I was a kid. I watched three people close to me die and I survive. That's when I was introduced to vampires," she says as she smiles and pets his head like he were her pet, but he knew better than to take a snap at her. Good thing he's a quick learner.

"So from there my life changes, my mother marries this grade-A abusive asshole, who not only turns into a vampire but also kidnaps my friend and I and then kills her while leaving me for dead. Then I'm changing into a vampire. Then I'm fighting an evil bitch and being hurt like hell by her. Have you ever felt your stomach being ripped open by a knife Brian?" A moment later he is screaming in agony and we all flinch at the sound but remain where we are. We are all fixated on the scene unfolding in front of us.

"Just like that!" she snaps her fingers. "Then comes the torment of healing from that. It wasn't pretty, trust me. Then a family reunion with my mother! You'd think it would have been a great time, but nope, it was a bitch." Her nonchalant attitude right now really unsettled everyone. She was slipping.

"Don't forget that my mother then leaves and we just know something awful will happen and we don't know what we can do about it. Being a prophesized one does little when you have no idea what to do," she sighs.

"You know what the worst part of it all is?" she asks innocently as she leans in towards Brian. He shakes his head and watches her cautiously.

Bella jumps up and kicks him in the stomach. He flies through the air and lands on the ground a few yards away. Before he can even blink, she's upon him and pins him to the ground. His body beneath her visibly shakes and she just bares her teeth to him.

"The worst part is that I never can catch a fucking break. The moment I try to have some quiet time with my mate you just up and ruin that. Dick move, Brian."

"She's lost it…" Emmett whispers. I look around and see everyone in agreement with him. I look at Jasper, who might be able to help with this but he just shakes his head and mouths '_she needs this'._ It's his words that stop me from interfering. We can all see that something was happening inside Bella and if Jasper thought she needed this then I would give it to her.

Ignoring our exchange Bella brings her teeth down on Brian's shoulder and bites hard. His screams only make her laugh as she seals the mark she made. "What were you sent to observe?" she asked silkily as she runs her fingers over his face like a lover might. I growled lowly just out of instinct. Bella sent her love to me and I quieted down.

"You," Brian gasps out through his pain.

"Good boy," she says and pats his head again. "Now let's try answering in full sentences. I'm sure you've had some form of education. Let's use it shall we?" This made everyone chuckle a little.

Bella's smile grew wider as she looked back at me. She motioned me over towards her and I came willingly. I wanted, no needed, to be near my mate.

I knelt beside her and she kissed my cheek. Looking back at Brian, she says, "this is my mate, Edward. Handsome isn't he? He's also very protective of me. Actually, let me introduce you to my family." I hold onto Brian after she pulls him up. "Every one of these vampires is a trained fighter. We are all very protective of one another; especially towards someone trying to do something to one of us." She glances at Brian and he shudders again, but remains silent. Her eyes are beyond terrifying.

"Why were you observing me?" she asks one last time.

He was finally smart enough to learn that silence equaled pain. "I was sent here to watch you and learn you and your family's weaknesses. You first and foremost."

Growls were heard from everyone. All of us wanted to know who sent him, but it was Bella who asked. Brian replied, "he'll kill me if I tell you."

Bella's chuckle sent shivers down my spine but not in fear. This was a vampire at her best. She rivaled Jasper right now. "Do you really think you should worry about that?"

Brian looks at her confusion. Bella made it clear as she snapped off his hand without even batting an eyelash. He howled in pain and she only smiled and did the same to the other hand.

"I warned you Brian of the consequences if you didn't participate equally in our little discussion. I gave you a choice to be forthcoming or not, and you just chose the stupid route. Let's try to get you back on the smart and narrow, shall we?" She went to grab his arm to detach it, but he yelped and nodded his head.

"Good, now who sent you?" When Bella smiled, it was a bit twisted and dark. I shivered as did the others. She'd make a formidable leader if she ever wanted to.

"I don't know his name," he said and he hurried through his explanation as he saw her take a step towards him. "I truly don't know his name. He never told me and nobody mentioned it in my presence. They said that things weren't safe for others to know."

"Edward," Bella called to me as she lifted the block from his mind. His thoughts revealed that what he said was truth and I told Bella so.

Bella closed her eyes and I saw the tremble in her back. The vampire didn't catch it because he was too focused on the fear he was still being fed by Bella albeit in smaller doses than before. She was getting irritated with this vampire and I didn't know how much longer she'd keep up the questioning before she just ended him to be done with it all. Although, she like all of us realized that information was needed.

"What did he look like?" she growled as she bent down to be eye level with him. Her eyes were even blacker than before if that's even possible and he shrunk back a little before she grabbed him around the throat. Vampires didn't need to breathe but the constriction on the throat was still uncomfortable.

"Blonde," he choked out. "Blonde… dirty… red eyes." The picture of this unknown vampire that I grabbed from Brian's mind had me growling immediately. In less than a second I was beside Bella and pinned the vampire down to the ground. The snarl that came from my mouth had the vampire freaking out. He knew he was coming to an end and he was trying to figure out a way to save himself.

"You won't save yourself," I snarled at him, "but if you tell us everything you know we'll make it quicker for you. It's your choice to make."

"I don-don't kn-ow anything else," he gasped as my nails dug into his neck. He screamed out in pain, but nobody was there to help him.

"He's telling the truth," I tell Bella as I glare at him with as much ferocity as I was capable of.

"Ah well that's too bad," Bella sighed. "I was having fun," she said and shrugged.

I felt Bella's lips against my neck and instead of being defensive as I would if it were anyone else, I leaned into her kiss. Leaning my neck to the side, I grant her more access to me. For a moment I forgot about the family and about the vampire still in my grasp. All that exists is Bella, my mate, my eternity. I have never felt this strong of an urge to please my mate as I do right now. Her lips against my neck makes me growl in anticipation and need.

She giggles against my neck and leans up to my ear. "Help me finish him?" she asks seductively as if it were part of a sensual game.

I want to claim her right here and now no matter what's going on or who's around us. I can feel her need and I know this is what she wants as well.

I gather what part of calm I have left in me and lean back to look at her. Her eyes are filled with longing and need. There's also a smaller part in there, a dark part, that taunts me and I'm drawn even more to this darker side of her.

I nod and she takes my hand and lowers it down the vampire's arm as she grabs the other arm. She nods to me and we pull at the same time, effectively beginning to dismember this stranger. We made quick work of his body and when he was finally in pieces in a pile, Bella walks over to Jasper and grabs the lighter out of his pocket before turning back to the stranger and walking back up to him. She flicks open the lighter and drops the flame on him, sending him up in flames.

Everyone stood in their spots without moving an inch. They are all shocked albeit for different reasons. Everyone besides Peter, Jasper, and Charlotte are shocked because they are not used to violence like this and even when they have experienced, they have never experienced it slowly and torturously like they just witnessed. Not to mention this is Bella after all that just did all of this.

Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte, however, are just shocked because they just witnessed such a different side to Bella. I guess nobody really thought Bella capable of this side, but now they have witnessed Bella the Vampire, full force and at her best. These three minds kept comparing Bella to their times in the Southern Vampire Wars and they all agreed that Bella was a force to reckoned with. Their pride in her outshone everything else though and I could see the smile that graced her face when she felt this from them.

Bella clapped her hands together to get the dust off of them before she turned around and looked at everyone. "He was useless to us since he had no further information to offer. He was a threat so I removed him," she explained as easily as if she was discussing the weather.

Everyone nodded as if they understood but in reality only Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte actually did understand. This was their norm. This is what they were used to.

Bella came and curled into my side as she held onto me. "What did you see in his mind?" she asked me softly. I could see Bella coming back to the surface a bit more and the vampire receded some.

I leaned into her body and took a deep breath, pulling in her scent which calmed me, and I closed my eyes to enjoy the feel of my mate beside me safe and sound.

"James," I said as I growled along with everyone else. I could feel Bella stiffen immediately. Her body began to shake as the growls continued from everyone around us, including myself.

I pulled myself together to ask Bella to remove Jasper form her shield. This time she listened to me and released Jasper. She slumped against me and I held onto her tighter. I knew that it must have taken quite a bit out of her to use Jasper's gift and without her being influenced by the emotions anymore, I could see my Bella come back completely. The threatening presence that she held while in front of the strange vampire was now gone. Well it wasn't completely gone, because Bella would always hold an air of power about her, but the excess power was gone now. She was back to herself.

Thoughts from everyone echoed in my mind. They were all the same though.

_What is this going to do to Bella? _ They all meant the fact that James was now a part of the equation once again. The man who tortured her, the vampire who tried to kill her and the one being she is utterly afraid of. He's back.

Looking around at everyone we all agreed on something right then and there.

He would never touch her again.


End file.
